


Broken Wings

by Codyknight22, DySyncZ (Codyknight22)



Category: RWBY
Genre: Broken Wings, Faunus!Weiss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-04-01 10:35:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4016497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Codyknight22/pseuds/Codyknight22, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Codyknight22/pseuds/DySyncZ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Weiss Schnee was born rich, powerful, important, and with white wings. She is cold, reclusive, and has a built in wall from everyone else. Will her time at Beacon expose her wings and ruin her name? Credit for cover goes to 0blue-bird0 on tumblr. Rated M for darkness and self harm (in a way). Work has been transferred over from ff.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Birth of an Angel

Broken Wings: Ch 1: Birth of an Angel

**Heeeeeeey I'm going to start up a new story and it's going to be titled Broken Wings. I saw a piece of art on tumblr a while back that I adored, and I decided to make a story based solely off of that (full credit for the art goes to 0blue-bird0). The actual image is already on the cover, but a direct link to the original drawing will be in the comments if you want to see that. So let's begin.**

She stared at herself in the mirror. She stared at her torso, her head, and then her hair. Everything fell to perfection. Her skin was pale, almost to the point of being the same shade as snow. Her clothing was tailor made and the finest of fabric. From her tiara to her skirt, everything seemed perfect, as if nothing was wrong.

But that wasn't the case.

Something was amiss.

There was always something amiss.

And she knew it, even if no one else did.

_17 Years Ago_

Birth was always a joyous occasion for any family. The celebration of bringing a new life into this world, one that you were apart of making. It was especially exciting for this couple, as this child was their first.

The mother was a woman who was nearing her 30s, just holding onto the last of her 20s. But if you looked at her, you never would've known. Her face was angelic, pure, and beautiful. Her eyes were a faint shade of blue, as see through as ice.

The man was a gentlemen who was near the age of his wife, but he too held a youthful look to him, a very strong and handsome appearance. His face was strong set, with a good jaw line and incredibly stoic features. His eyes were a much darker shade of blue, especially in contrast to his wife's. He seemed like he was the guardian knight to his angelic wife, neither of them physically nearing each other's appearance at all.

But they shared one trait, one that would be soon matched by their currently unborn child. They had snow white hair, one the shade of ice.

The man's name was Ritter Schnee and the woman's name was Engel Schnee, having taken the name of her husband long ago. But now, a more important name was about to be given for their child.

Engel had endured hours of labor to reach this moment. It was the final push, and her smaller, more fragile hands, were attempting to crush those of her very powerful husband.

"One last push, Mrs. Schnee," the nurse attending to them said. "You're almost there." Engel let loose one final scream of pain, before she felt relief. The pain had lowered immensely, and her body was beginning to ease it's way back into a good state.

"You did it," Ritter whispered to his wife. "Our child is born." Engel was too tired to do anything but smile weakly, and she looked up at the nurse.

She was washing off the baby carefully, taking great care to make sure that the child was crystal clean before giving her back to her mother.

"It's a girl," the nurse said. "A very beautiful baby girl." She wrapped up the baby with a blanket, and very delicately placed her back in Engel's arms. Engel took one look at the child, and started to cry.

The baby had her mother's eyes, a soft, almost see through shade of blue, and most importantly she had her mother's face. The soft, angelic face. Her hair was, of course, as white as her last name would imply it would be.

"She looks like you," Ritter said happily, the normally very stoic man attempting to hold back tears as well. "Shall we name her Engel?" Engel shook her head, and pulled her child very close to her.

"I want her to have her own name," Engel said. "There are none of them in your family, I want to name her Weiss." Ritter just nodded in agreement, smiling even more at the name.

"So that shall be her name," Ritter said. "Weiss Schnee."

The happiness at that moment was overwhelming.

Everyone in that room could feel it.

But that happiness doesn't last forever with a child.

They just never imagined it lasting for as little as it did.

_A Year Later_

Life in the Schnee household was vastly different from any other house. The Schnee's mined and sold Dust, making them the richest and perhaps the most powerful family in all of Remnant. This meant that Weiss would not grow up in a home, she would grow up in a palace.

The Schnee Palace (or the Frozen Palace as many learned to call it) was large and intimidating. The building stood 10 stories up, had windows in every room, and was made entirely of gray bricks. It had a massive garden surrounding the entirety of the building, and that garden made things even more beautiful.

Engel and Ritter were both very happy with their child. Weiss was learning at a very accelerated rate, her vocabulary already surpassing that of a normal one year old. She could almost speak in short conversations. The only thing that wasn't growing at an accelerated rate was her size, the child still being very tiny.

This day, Weiss was being left alone in her room. She could walk fairly well, and she was aware enough to notice many things. Today, she noticed something that was out of place. It wasn't out of place in the room, it was out of place with her.

Not understanding what was going on, she walked out of her room. Weiss was intelligent enough to avoid the stairs, and instead she managed to find a woman very familiar to her, but it wasn't her mother.

"Weiss," Rosanne said. "What're you doing out of your room?" Rosanne was a relatively plump woman. She wore a standard white and blue dress that signified that she worked at the Schnee household. Rosanne's primary, and almost sole job was to take care of Weiss.

"Mama," Weiss managed. "Mama and Dada."

"You want to see your parents?" Rosanne asked. Weiss nodded, and then sat down.

"Up! Up!" She said. Rosanne smiled, and bent down to pick up the child.

"Oh, alright then." Rosanne carried Weiss down the stairs.

Rosanne easily navigated the hallways that she had been working at for a few years, and quickly found her way to the main living room. It was a single room of incredible size, just as most rooms in the palace were. It had a chandelier, fireplace, four couches, two tables with eight chairs a piece, and a single table in the middle of the couches. On each of the couches sat a Schnee parent.

"Mr. and Mrs. Schnee," Rosanne said. "I am terribly sorry if I disturbed you, but Weiss here was dying to see her parents."

"Oh, it's fine Rosanne," Engel said. "What is it that you wanted to see your mother about, Weissy?" Rosanne handed Weiss off and then departed instantly. Engel slowly brought Weiss onto her lap, and stared her daughter in the face. Ritter just watched from a distance, knowing that the bond between his two angels was far greater than anything that he could've hoped to achieve in any short period of time.

"Birdy," Weiss said. "Birdy."

"You saw a bird?" Engel asked, her voice full of that motherly exuberance that was so often displayed when she spoke to Weiss

"No," Weiss said. "Birdy. Back. Birdy back." Weiss tried to lift up her shirt, but was quickly stopped by Engel.

"Weissy, I need more help," Engel said. "Please, what do you mean by 'birdy back?'"

"Me," Weiss said with a giggle. "Me." Engel sighed, and kissed the top of her daughter's head.

"Ritter, she's not making any sense," Engel said. "What do you think?"

"I think that you should look at her back," Ritter suggested. "If she seems to keen on saying birdy and back, we can at least look at one." Engel sighed, slightly annoyed that she hadn't thought to do that. She slowly turned Weiss around, and gently lifted up her shirt. The mother's face was confusion for only a moment, and then it grew very, very pale.

"Ritter," she said. "Ritter, you need to see this." Ritter sighed, and walked over to his wife and daughter. He took one look, and then saw what had made his wife look so ill.

Wings.

A single pair of white wings.

So small, they didn't even add much bulk to Weiss' small form.

But they were wings, and humans didn't grow wings.

"Why is our daughter a Faunus?" Ritter growled.

"I don't know," Engel said, tears reaching her eyes. But these were not the same tears of happiness that they were shedding just a year ago. These tears were of pain, sadness, and disparity.

Without even a second thought, Ritter picked Weiss up. He carried her in his arms all the way to his study, until he was able to set her down on his table. He calmly plucked a sword off of the wall, and flipped Weiss over.

He didn't hesitate.

He didn't think twice.

And he would never come to regret it.

He brought the sword down onto the first of Weiss' small wings, and cut it off in one, strong, clean, stroke. Weiss let out a ghastly wail, one filled with pain and hurt. By now, Engel had reached the study to see her daughter bleeding on her husbands table.

But she did not stop him.

It didn't even occur to her.

And she would never come to regret it.

Engel watched as Ritter cut the second of Weiss' wings off, and listened to her daughter cry horribly.

"You cannot understand now my daughter," Ritter said. "But we had to get rid of those wings. It may hurt now, but long term it'll be easier. I swear it to you." He kissed his crying daughter, who desperately tried to thrash away from him.

The pain that she was experiencing at her young age was unbearable. Worse yet, she would remember it for the rest of her life. Pain like that, no matter how young or how old, would haunt your very being for the rest of your life.

"ROSANNE!" Ritter screamed. The caretaker was not far away, the deathly wails of Weiss attracting her to the study as soon as she could. When the caretaker got to the room, she only saw the blood and Weiss crying horribly. She immediately assumed the worse, but saw the lack of tears from both of the Schnee's.

"Yes sir?" Rosanne asked, her own voice sounding slightly held back from the tears that were in her throat.

"I want you to take Weiss to a doctor," Ritter started. "One that we can trust completely. Then I want you to have him patch up her back, and explain to him that we had to remove Weiss' wings."

"W-w-wings?" Rosanne asked.

"White wings," Ritter said disgustedly. "White wings that may belong to a beast." Rosanne's eyes widened as she realized what had just happened, but she kept silent. Ritter handed off his daughter to Rosanne, causing the caretaker to stare at the bleeding child.

"I will do this Mr. Schnee," Rosanne said. "Don't worry." Rosanne picked up a single cloth that was in the room, and then laid it across the wailing child in her arms.

"Sh," Rosanne sang. "The pain will end soon." Weiss could not hear Rosanne over the sound of her own cries, and instead just thrashed in her caretaker's arms. Just as Rosanne was about to leave, Engel grabbed onto her arm, and gave her a death stare.

"No one may know," Engel said harshly. "No one can know." Rosanne nodded, already having the intent of remaining silent.

She carried the screaming child out of the room, already with a doctor to visit planned out.

"Sh," Rosanne whispered to Weiss, doing her best to keep the child from screaming any louder. "It's okay, I will make sure that they never try to hurt you like that again."

Then time carried on. Weiss was patched up by one of the doctors, and he became the fourth person to learn of Weiss' wings. No others would, it would always just be the Schnee's, Rosanne, and that doctor.

Rosanne had done her best to keep her promise true. She knew, unlike the Schnee's, that the wings would not stay gone forever. Within a week, they had already grown back to a very small amount. But Rosanne knew that she was the one in charge of Weiss' baths, changings, she knew that only she would see those wings.

But then they grew in size. They started to become too large to hide, and Rosanne became panicked. The first time, there had been no remorse in Ritter or Engel's eyes. If they knew that the wings had come back, who knows what they would do?

So she took Weiss to the same doctor. She took Weiss down to the doctor, and had him knock her out before removing the wings again. It was as close to painless as removing those wings would get.

And then it continued. One year passed, then two, then three, and then many others. The ritual held true, Rosanne had a doctor remove Weiss' wings and the girl always knew why. Even though it had happened so long ago, Weiss still remembered when her father had cut off her wings. She always remembered, and she always would.

Weiss also quickly learned, at the age of nine, what her parents expected of her. They expected perfection, they expected everything to be top of the line, and they expected her to be the greatest Schnee to ever live purely because she had wings when she was one.

The demands became high, the work almost overwhelming, and it never ceased. It only ever grew, and it only ever got harder. Much, much, harder.

But in between that work, Weiss researched. She was tired of constantly having to go to the doctor to cut off her wings, these things that made her see herself as a monster. So she looked, she looked for a way to remove them, and a way to end her pain.

She never did find what could make them go away. All that she ever found was that being born as a Faunus to a family of humans was uncommon. It almost never happened. It made her view herself as an even bigger monster than she had already thought.

Soon, she was 13. That was the age that she made a very conscious decision in her mind, one that was influenced by the desire to leave the Schnee Palace, a place of torture for her to even exist in.

"Okay Weiss," Rosanne said quietly. "It's time again."

"No," Weiss said forcefully.

"I'm sorry?" Rosanne asked.

"I said, no!" Weiss shifted her focus to Rosanne, and slowly bent down. She picked up her father's gift to her, a Dust rapier named Myrtenaster, and slowly stepped in front of a mirror.

"If I'm going to leave, I'm going to have to do this myself," Weiss said. She very slowly took off her jacket, and extended her wings. They were still very small, Rosanne having done a good job of never even letting them get to the point of suspicion. But she fully extended them, and stared sadly at herself in the mirror.

"Weiss, please don't do this," Rosanne pleaded.

"Close the door," Weiss said. "I'll make sure that I don't scream." Rosanne kept her sad look on the girl, and complied with her wishes. Weiss very slowly leveled Myrtenaster with her wings, and then very rapidly brought it down through her wings.

She listened as the blade cut through the muscle.

She listened as the blade cut through the bones.

She felt as her wing slowly fell to the floor.

Weiss immediately crumpled to the ground and bit her tongue as hard as she could to avoid screaming in pain. She rolled on the ground, and did her best to keep her bleeding back from touching the floor. Rosanne watched Weiss, and looked ready to go and find a doctor. Just as she was about to leave, Weiss weakly palmed a single vial of ice Dust. She gently poured it on her back, and felt the cold replace the pain.

Weiss slowly stood up, and very carefully leveled Myrtenaster with her second wing.

"Weiss, please don't do this again," Rosanne said, anguish evident from seeing Weiss go through such pain.

"I have to," Weiss said, her teeth obviously clenched. Weiss carefully leveled Myrtenaster, and brought it down in one motion. This time, she remained standing to the best of her abilities, and she carefully froze the part where she was bleeding over again. Weiss did her best to remain standing and to move quickly, and she just stared at herself.

No wings.

Now there were no wings.

She had cut them off of herself.

She set down Myrtenaster, and slowly walked to the bathroom that was connected to her room. She tossed off all of her clothing, and carefully stepped into the shower. She turned the water onto cold, and then let it run over her back. She bent her head down, and stared at the blood being washed off of her.

Weiss knew that the ice would melt. She knew the blood would run freely down her back. She knew that she would have to somehow get ahold of flames to properly stop the bleeding. But she just didn't care. She had done it. She had gotten rid of those things that made her a monster. But for some reason, staring at the bloody water and thinking of what she had just done, Weiss cried.

Rosanne had watched as Weiss stepped into the shower, and just sighed. Weiss got most of her mother's looks, but she had also received her father's strong will. It convinced Rosanne that there was no way to stop Weiss from doing this herself, and instead Rosanne just picked up the two wings that were lying on the ground. She very slowly wrapped them up in a piece of cloth that no one would miss, and carried it downstairs. There she would find the doctor, there he would dispose of the wings, and there would be where this particular session ended.

But more happened. Over the years, Weiss got very good at quickly cutting off her wings, freezing over the wound, showering, and then permanently cauterizing it. It became like a second form of breathing for her. Every month, sometimes a month and a half, Weiss would cut them off. Then she would go on during her normal life as a Schnee. Lessons, combat practice to learn how to properly use Myrtenaster, instructions on what to do in the world of business, generally angry ranting from her father, and loneliness.

This carried on for four more years. Nothing ever seemed to change apart from the painful sight of scars all across Weiss' back, and one on her eye given to her by one of her father's tests. But then that fateful day came around, and Weiss turned 17. There was only one reason that this age meant so much to her.

She could finally escape.

The Schnee Palace was called the Frozen Palace, not just because of who ran it, but because of the rumors that surrounded the Schnees. The shady business deals that were done, the legally questionable actions preformed, and the most rampant one was the way that Faunus workers were treated. But that wasn't the main reason that Weiss thought of it as the Frozen Palace.

She grew up hated by her parents.

Without a sibling to share time with.

And hated by herself.

The palace was frozen because it was lonely.

The only person Weiss ever seemed to have was Rosanne, her caretaker. But that just wasn't enough. She didn't crave attention, she didn't want to be in the spotlight, she just wanted to know that there were people who cared about her beyond just their legacy as a family. It certainly didn't help her case that she just didn't know how to deal with people, she didn't know what to say, and so she went into her most guarded state that she possibly could.

But now Weiss could leave. She was accepted into Beacon Academy, the legendary hunter and huntress training school, meaning she could leave, become a huntress, and escape. That's what she saw. A chance to leave this dreadful place behind.

And now it was her last day there.

Weiss and Rosanne carefully packed away Weiss' many belongings, mostly consisting of Dust and spare clothing. Neither of them were speaking much, both of them simply too petrified of everything that could happen to do much speaking.

"Do you want me to grab one extra jacket?" Rosanne asked shakily, her voice sounding as though she was already crying with how unstable it was. "So that way, you can wear it while you're sleeping?"

"Yes Rosanne," Weiss said, her voice sounding completely even. "That would be exceedingly appreciated. Maybe if you could acquire one of the more comfortable ones, not something made of this substantially thicker material, that would make my slumbers significantly more tolerable."

"Weiss," Rosanne said, her mouth curling into a small smile. "It's me, you don't have to keep up the act. Your parents will be gone for a little while, remember?" Weiss nodded, and then immediately let her face go from the stone look that it was, to one filled with pain, sadness, and worry.

"I really want a soft jacket," Weiss whispered. "I can't... I can't show my back so I want a really soft one. Would you please get one?" Rosanne nodded, and gently hugged Weiss. She felt her arms be poked slightly by the wings, and she had to pull away from Weiss. She lowered herself towards the ground, and looked Weiss dead in the eyes.

"I'm going to get the jacket," Rosanne said. "Do not start now, not until I'm back." Weiss nodded, and watches Rosanne exit the room.

She dragged herself to the body length mirror that was in her room, and stared at the reflection sadly.

Why didn't she look like a monster?

Why did she seem so normal?

Why did she inherit her mother's beauty?

Why did she have to be that statistical anomaly?

Why did she have wings?

Weiss slowly took off her jacket, and set it to the floor. She slowly extended her wings, and looked at herself.

She had been bad this time, she let the wings grow a little more then usual. When Rosanne had asked why, Weiss had said that she wanted to wait until the day she'd depart for Beacon so that they could be of minimal length. But the truth, the truth was different, the truth was worse.

Weiss had wanted to see them close to full length. She wanted to feel them, to feel that soft texture that rested on them. Weiss had always loved birds, in fact her mother had even let her have one as a pet for seven years before it died. She pet that bird all the time, she watched it fly, and she talked to it.

"I wish that I could do what you do," Weiss had said. "I wish that I had the option to fly away like you can. But I can't. You're supposed to have wings, I'm not. I'm not better then any of the White Fang. I wish that I could just get rid of my wings, or maybe become a bird like you, Eds. I don't want to be this stupid thing in-between." All Eds had done was squawk in response, but that's all Eds ever did.

But now Eds was gone. Weiss didn't have a bird to pet anymore, and so instead she painfully bent around her wing to pet. She felt over the smooth, soft, feathers and smiled. Her wings were at least a foot long a piece, and they ran down to maybe her lower back. It was painful to keep them bunched up, but the alternative was filled with more agony.

"Weiss?" Rosanne asked worriedly. Weiss turned around, and saw three jackets sitting her arms. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Weiss said. "I just... I wanted to feel them one last time before the new ones start to come in." Rosanne nodded, and placed the jackets in one of the suitcases.

"I think we should just do this," Rosanne said. "The sooner it's done the sooner we can stop worrying." Weiss nodded, and picked up Myrtenaster. At this point, the sword was more battle worn but just as sharp as before. Better yet, Weiss was stronger with the weapon. It wasn't really something that relied on brute strength, but it did require a certain level of skill and speed to use properly, both of which Weiss had more then acquired over the years.

She very calmly evened it up with her first wing, and brought the sword down.

She didn't even flinch as the wing hit the ground. Without another thought, Weiss carefully put some of the ice Dust over the wound, and felt it freeze over. She then hovered her sword around the second wing. She made sure it was lined up, and then she brought it down again. Once more, she placed the freeze Dust over the open wound.

She took in a deep breath, and stepped into her bathroom. Weiss set the water to the coldest temperature, so as to avoid melting the ice too quickly, and felt it run off of her. She, as always, stared at the bloody water as it ran off of her back. It had been two years since she last cried at the sight of her blood running down the drain, and this was the first time that she had been tempted to cry again. Maybe not because of what had happened, but because of what was going to happen.

Weiss finally turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower. She only took a few moments to reach into her personal cabinet and grab the fire Dust that rested inside of it. She put it over her wounds, and felt the slight sting of pain that came from that action. She flinched, and then set the vial aside. After one last wipe down of her back, Weiss stepped outside.

As usual, Rosanne had gotten rid of the wings before Weiss could return. All that was there was Weiss' suitcases and the caretaker herself.

Weiss grabbed one of the remaining clothing sets that she had in her room, and changed as quickly as she could. Weiss couldn't care less if she was decent in front of Rosanne, the woman had seen her naked from almost day one. Rosanne was one of two people who knew of Weiss' wings, and so Weiss didn't mind if she saw her bare back.

Weiss finished changing, and then sat down on her bed.

"This is our goodbye," Weiss said sadly. "My parents will return, and then we can't say goodbye like we want to." Weiss looked at Rosanne sadly, and the caretaker sat next to her. She looked at Weiss, her eyes also filled with sadness and pain, and gave her a hug.

"I'm going to miss you Weiss," Rosanne said. "I don't like the idea of you being out there on your own. I want to be there to help you, keep you safe, I don't want your wings to get exposed."

"They won't," Weiss said. "I won't let them. But I'm going to miss you, I'm going to miss your help. Thank you so much, Rosanne. For just... Just for being my friend." Weiss curled up into the caretaker a little bit more, and let herself cry.

At that moment Weiss knew that this was going to be the last time she cried for a while.

The last time in front of people for the next four years most likely.

If things went the way Weiss expected, it may wind up being the last time she ever cried.

Because now her heart had to turn to ice.

_Later_

It wasn't long that Weiss remained in Rosanne's arms. She knew that she had to cease the tears before her parents returned, and then she had to properly apply makeup to mask any signs of her sobs.

Now all that Weiss was doing was waiting for her parents downstairs. She sat on the couch facing the door, Rosanne and several other servants standing ready with Weiss' luggage. She never felt happiness or excitement when she was waiting for her parents. She only ever felt a certain sense of dread, dread because of how they were.

They never said it, but they still viewed Weiss as the Schnee with wings. The one year old that her father had so mercilessly cut the wings off of. Weiss still remembered it, she knew her parents knew that. She still remembered that day.

 _Birdy,_ she heard.  _Birdy back._

But her wisdom and combat weren't the only two things that had improved over the years. Weiss could keep up the mask of an heiress with no emotions.  _  
_

The doors finally opened up, and Weiss stared at her parents.

Neither of them had physically changed much. There were no differences in the way they looked. Both of them still looked as though they could be in their mid twenties, despite having reached their forties by now. Her father always wore a white business suit while her mother typically wore a ground length white and blue dress. Her mother's hair was free flowing, showing it's normal shoulder length form. Her father's hair remained well cut and tidy. Both of them seemed like the consummate business professionals, not parents.

They looked just as the were.

"Welcome back mother, father," Weiss said. She rose to her feet, and gave them a polite curtsey. "How did everything go."

"Just fine Weiss," her father said. "Thank you."

"But we're already going to be running close to time," her mother chimed in. "Rosanne, if you could monitor the servants and make sure that everything runs smoothly, that'd be really appreciated."

"Of course, Mrs. Schnee," Rosanne said politely. "Come along, all of you heard her." The servants did not need any more encouragement, and they carried all of the suitcases outside to the waiting bullhead.

That left Weiss alone with her parents. Ritter and and Engel both stood there, saying nothing. Weiss stared at them for a few moments, but then had to look away. Just seeing them made her back fill with fire. Her father's face, it was so calm and even. It was the same face he wore when he cut Weiss' wings off of her.

"You really do wish to attend Beacon?" Weiss' father said.

"Not only do I wish to attend Beacon, but I wish to excel and complete Beacon's courses on being a huntress," Weiss said evenly.

"Why do you wish to become a huntress so badly?" Weiss' mother chimed in. "What is this sudden desire."

"I want to accomplish something positive in this world," Weiss said, using the excuse she had pre-prepared. "I want to be able to declare that I have accomplished the title of being a huntress. It sounds so tantalizing, I simply wish to reach this goal." Both of Weiss' parents seemed to accept this answer, and her mother stepped out towards Weiss. She extended her arms, and Weiss calmly walked into them. She hugged her mother, but it wasn't the same as her hug with Rosanne.

That one was filled with emotion, life, happiness, and some sadness.

This hug was cold, dead, and lifeless.

"I will miss you, Weiss," she said quietly.

"As will I," Weiss said.

Both of them spoke such empty words with ease.

"It is time to go," her father said. "Engel, please unhand our daughter."

 _IT'S A HUG!_ Weiss wanted to scream.  _I'M HUGGING MY MOTHER, THERE IS NO REASON FOR HER TO UNHAND ME!_

But no words left her mouth. Weiss kept silent, she kept composed, and she kept unflustered. She was used to her parents by now, their ways no longer prompted a reaction out of her.

"Well, it is presumably better if we vacate the palace for Beacon instantly," Weiss said, unwilling to delay this any longer.

"Of course," her father said. "We shouldn't waste another moment." Her father hated what she had been so much, that he wouldn't even fake emotion for her.

The Schnee's walked outside, and walked all the way to where their private bullhead airship was waiting. Weiss' parents both said their final goodbyes, and then watched as Weiss turned her back to them. She walked into the large vehicle, and then took one last look at her parents.

They had already left.

**End: So now there'll be head canon. I don't know if every chapter will be this long, but hey, all of you will love it if they are. Thank you to anybody that stopped by the live write :D I had fun doing it (once I got it working). So, any initial questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated as always.**


	2. Beacon Landing

Broken Wings Ch. 2: Beacon Landing

**I got a couple comments about Wings (RWBY song). No, not my inspiration for writing this but what really was was Mr. Mister's Broken Wings (submitted by Dinas Emrys, his joke that is oddly applicable not mine, link on profile). Everybody should listen to that though, it works fucking perfectly for this story.**

The airship rocked gently through the air as it flew along. Weiss sat in the back, by herself, with none of the ships staff being near her. That was the way that she had wanted it, though. If she was to remain hidden at Beacon, she was going to have to remain distant for the most part. The closer people got, the closer she would've been to losing it.

She couldn't lose it.

Especially not now.

The Schnee with Wings.

It would not stay hidden.

Her parents could not know that they had not accomplished what they thought they had all those years ago.

"Ms. Schnee, we are approaching Beacon," one of the attendants said.

"Thank you," Weiss said very calmly. "Will you please inform the landing crew to commence prep for my luggage unloading?" The crew member nodded, and quickly ran off. Even in the back of an almost empty airship, Weiss maintained perfect posture and perfect speech. It was good to keep up her practice, so that even now, when guards were at their lowest, she would remain hidden.

Weiss felt the airship begin to descend, and she shifted anxiously in her seat. Beacon was the place that she had dreamed about for so long, but it was purely because she had wanted to escape the horrible isolation that was her house. Actually being at Beacon was another story, one that she had not yet theorized an end for.

You go to Beacon, you graduate, you become a huntress. That was the traditional route, but Weiss didn't know if she wanted to become a huntress. She just wanted to be free of her home for a little bit.

 _What if they learn?_ Weiss worried.  _What if Beacon unveils it all? What if they learn that I'm one of them? We do have teams here..._

Fear rose in her, causing Weiss to pause. Luckily she was still seated, as the airship hadn't yet fully landed, meaning that nobody could see her temporary break in the frozen shell.

 _Find a good team,_ she thought.  _Find a good team and be done with it. If they are a good team, I don't have to worry about prying eyes._

"Ms. Schnee," someone said. Weiss jumped slightly as her thoughts were interrupted, and she saw the same crew member from earlier staring down at her. "We have landed."

"Thank you," Weiss said again. "I hope that you and your crew will have a safe journey back to the palace."

"And I hope that you have a safe stay at Beacon," the crew member said.

 _If only that seemed possible,_ she thought sadly.

"Thank you," Weiss said aloud. The crew member simply bowed, and Weiss walked away very calmly. So long as her exterior held, her interior would not be displayed for the world to see.

She watched as the door lowered and the bridge to enter the campus lowered. Weiss hesitated, simply having to take a moment to catch her breath.

This place wasn't like any other that she had seen.

Sure the Frozen Palace was larger.

But this place had something that she was rather unaccustomed to seeing.

_Life_

Beacon's campus was abuzz with first year students running amuck. Most of them stuck to groups, those that were alone appeared to be the students that were the sole members of their friends to make it in. All of them seemed lost, as if they were searching for someone to latch onto at the school.

"Ms. Schnee," someone said. Weiss jumped slightly, and turned to see one of the crew members staring at her standing in the door frame. "The crew is already going back to grab the rest of your things. You really should get moving, don't you think?"

"Of course, my apologies," Weiss said politely. She stepped onto the bridge, and walked out onto the Beacon campus.

Weiss took another moment to stare around her, and she almost allowed herself a small smile at the sight of so much happiness.

Almost.

She finally broke out of her sole spot, and began to walk towards the assembly hall. Before she got two feet, she heard a loud crash. Instinctively she turned to see what had happened, and her eyes widened.

A girl.

It was a young girl.

She was lying in the middle of Weiss' Dust cases.

The ones that were reserved for the treatment of her back.

"WHAT'RE YOU DOING?" She exploded. Weiss' cold mask broke way partially to a mixed look of horror and anger, but she maintained her character by keeping both of those looks frosty. She stormed over to the cases, and looked down at the girl crisply. The girl finally raised her head, revealing her full face that was partially hidden beneath the red hood, and looked horrified at the sight in front of her. The look on her face alone caused Weiss' back to burn a little, though she showed no sign, the mix of rage and panic helped keep her frozen look on ice.

 _She can't even see my wings and she already thinks that I'm a monster,_ Weiss thought sadly.

"Sorry!" The girl said. Then it hit Weiss. The horror didn't stem from her, it stemmed from how guilty she felt.

 _That's not terrible,_ Weiss thought.  _Perhaps she wouldn't be so bad. She seems sweet enough._

"Sorry?" Weiss said aloud. "Do you have any idea of the damage you could've caused?"

_That's not right._

"Uhhhh," the girl said in a daze. She reached over and politely handed one of the cases over to Weiss. Weiss saw the kind gesture she was trying to make, and completely ignored the good intent. She curtly snatched the case out of her hands, and pulled it close to her.

"Give me that!" She said, her voice just as crisp as before. Weiss pulled a single vial of fire Dust from it, and stared at it.

"This is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee Dust Quarry."

"Uhhhh," the girl continued.

 _Maybe I should stop,_ Weiss thought.  _Maybe she's heard_ _enough. She's probably already figured out my name._  There were only four words that came to her thoughts, though.

_I've come too far._

"What are you, brain dead?" Weiss continued, her voice sounding more spiteful with every syllable, her fists shaking at ever announceation. "Ice, water, fire energy!" This girl had to know what Dust was coming into the school, but Weiss just couldn't cut her act short.

"Uhhh," the girl continued. She finally started to rise to her feet, though rather shakily. Her face started to shrivel up, and she seemed to be attempting to hold something in.

"Are you even listening to me?" Weiss asked, her voice going from the angry tone it was in before to a much more annoyed one, as though she were dealing with a pest. "Is any of this sinking in with you? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Uhhhhh," the girl said. At the last moment, Weiss noticed a few things.

The cork on the Dust vial she grabbed wasn't fully sealed.

Little particles of Dust were leaking from the vial.

The girl was about to sneeze because of said particles.

If she did, that meant flames.

Flames spelled danger for her jacket.

 _The scars,_ Weiss thought. She instantly dove to the side, losing the grip on her Dust vial but at the moment not caring, and listened as the girl sneezed loudly. A small explosion was set off, most of the force remaining sedentary which was fortunate for Weiss.

Weiss lifted up her head, and surveyed the small crater that now rested in the ground and the smoke pouring from the area in which the explosion occurred. The girl stood there, not only looking slightly baffled but slightly embarrassed with herself as well.

 _That was close,_ Weiss thought.  _That was... If my jacket had been burned and my back exposed... I don't..._

"I am so sorry!" The girl said. Weiss could see a hand, but her fear made her turn to anger, and anger made her sharply slap the helping hand that was laid out in front of her.

"UNBELIEVABLE!" Weiss roared. She promptly rose to her feet, and got right in the girl's face. "This is EXACTLY the kind of thing I was talking about!"

"Look, I'm really, really sorry!" The girl said.

 _She really does sound it,_ Weiss thought.  _Maybe I should... Back down. It'd be bad to make enemies so fast. Plus she seems nice. A little lacking in the mental department perhaps, but nice. Maybe she's good in a fight._

But her mind went back to one thing.

_Not many people can get past ice if it's cold enough._

"You complete DOLT!" Weiss continued, her rant growing less out of rage and more out of the fear of what may come to her if her rant didn't end. "What're you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

"Well.. I uh," the girl started. Weiss patiently awaited her response, and the girl just shied away from Weiss. That brought back a small amount of rage.

"No, answer my question!" Weiss said furiously. "Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon? Because that minuscule sneeze that just occurred could've cost me my health, you imbecile! I could be burned at this very moment, and it'd be exclusively because of your incompetence! Oh, the sc-." That brought Weiss to a stop. Her mind had formed the path that made the most sense, and that path lead to the road that she didn't want to state aloud the most.

_Scars._

Weiss had to physically take a step back, but luckily for her the girl didn't seem to notice. Instead, she had just taken the momentary pause as a reason to insert her response into the conversation.

"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!" The girl snapped.

"It's heiress, actually," someone said. Weiss could feel herself inwardly flinch.

That word.

That word sounded like royalty.

That word reminded her of her family crest.

That word reminded her of what she could never truly be.

Weiss finally turned to see the new arrival to her conversation, and saw that the girl was sporting a black bow with a black outfit, it almost seemed like she belonged hidden away in the shadows.

 _One hiding in the shadows of the public, the other hiding in the shadows of their emotions,_ Weiss thought sullenly.

"Weiss Schnee," the girl continued, completely unaware of what Weiss' inward struggle was. "Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellent in the world."

 _Oh no,_ Weiss thought.  _Oh no, no, no. I cannot... I just... What should I do? Perhaps state that it has been a mistake? No... No that wouldn't work. It'd be better... I need to._ Weiss could feel her chest begin to hurt and her palms begin to grow slick with sweat. But her face and posture remained composed, and instead she took a bold step forward.

"Finally, some recognition!" Weiss declared proudly.  _But with my family, this is where the flattery ends._

"The same company infamous for it's controversial labor forces and questionable business partners," the girl finished.

 _If only you had any idea as to what really occurs,_ Weiss thought sadly.

"What?" Weiss asked with a hint of fury, only enough to sell that it was genuine and not as faked as it actually was. "How dare you! Ugh, the nerve that you posses!" Weiss looked down at the girl's hand, and noticed that the Dust vial that she had thrown earlier was resting in it. Weiss instantly snatched it from her hands, and lifted her chin up. She managed a simple puff of haughty air, and walked away.

She started to make her way to the Beacon Assembly Hall, but came to a stop.

Those girls.

They seemed... Nice.

People that may be friendly.

Weiss wanted friends.

She took a look back at where she had come from, and saw two things that made her feel more sad.

The girl in black was gone.

And the girl with the red hood was being helped to her feet by a boy with blonde hair.

 _And this is where I need to learn my lesson,_ Weiss thought.  _Being cold means I cannot have friends. If mother and father are to never hear of my wings, and if my wings are to stay concealed from everyone, I cannot have friends like I always dreamed of. I have to continue down my path._

With that final thought, Weiss looked away from the girl in red and walked towards the Beacon Assembly Hall.

She even allotted herself a single tear to show the pain that she felt.

One tear, that was all she could risk.

_Beacon Assembly Hall_

Weiss walked into the room and looked around her. The hall was already getting crowded, leaving her feeling a slight sense of claustrophobia. She did her best to find a fairly clear point near the center of the room, and slowly worked her way towards it.

It was agony to feel so many people brushing against her body.

Every time someone else came into contact with her jacket, she was sure that that would be it.

That would be the person to knock off her jacket and expose her back.

That hideous sight.

That questionable sight.

The  _scars._

But it never came. Weiss made it safely to the center of the room, and she calmed down slightly. She let herself fall into ease for a brief moment, but the moment the ease hit was the same moment memories started to haunt her thoughts.

 _Keep those concealed when you're in public, Weiss,_ Rosanne's voice said.  _Even if there are no wings, there are scars. The jacket hides it, so never be without it._

 _I promise, I won't,_ Weiss had replied.

She shivered at the memory, remembering that this was one of the first things she remembered after the memory of her father...

"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" Someone yelled out next to her. Weiss flinched slightly, but put her guard up instantly. If she had gone another few moments with her thoughts, she may have lost control of herself. While this obnoxious person had roared in her ear, they also had snapped her into the moment again.

"Thank you," Weiss whispered to the stranger. The, now that Weiss had looked over, girl showed no reaction to her, but continued to wave over towards a person. Weiss finally decided to steal a glance towards where the stranger was looking, and she felt her heart drop.

 _Oh no,_ she thought.  _No, no, no, no._

The girl in the red hood from earlier walked up to where the blonde girl was standing, and looked right over to her.

 _Ruby,_ Weiss thought.  _Her name is... Ruby. Interesting._

"How is your first day going, little sister?" The blonde asked.

 _Sisters?!_ Weiss thought.  _They look absolutely nothing alike! How on Remnant could they be sisters?_

"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?" The girl in the red hood, Ruby, shot back.

"Yikes, meltdown already?" The blonde asked.

"No, I literally exploded a hole outside of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice?"

_Both were definitely present in the explosion, perhaps next time you should either be more careful or observe the scene better._

"Are you being sarcastic?" The blonde asked, her voice morphing to match the way you'd speak to a small child.

"Ugh, I wish!" Ruby continued. "I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded, and then she yelled again, and I felt really,  _really_ bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!"

 _If she turns she'll know I was here,_ Weiss thought.  _And then she'll wonder why it is that I said nothing to her... I have to..._

"You!" Weiss said, mustering up any false anger that she could manage.

"Oh god, it's happening again!" Ruby shrieked. She immediately jumped into her sister's arms and clung desperately to her neck. Weiss' mouth twitched, the sheer visual proving to be too much for her to show no sign of emotion.

 _No mention of injuries,_ Weiss thought.  _No mention of injuries. No mention of injuries. Stay away from the S word._

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" Weiss stated angrily.

_That shall do._

"Oh my god, you really exploded," the blonde said absently.

"It was an accident!" Ruby declared innocently. She hoped down from the blonde's arms, and stared at Weiss apologetically. "It was an accident!" She repeated.

"Well next time, you should pay more attention to what is occurring around you," Weiss said sharply. "Then maybe you wouldn't set off an explosion and nearly... Kill me!" She finished off.

"Look," the blonde said, finally stepping in. "It sounds like you two just... Got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you... Start over and try to be friends?"

"Great idea sis!" Ruby said eagerly, grasping at anything to try and get a reset with Weiss. "Hello Weiss, I'm Ruby. Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies together."

 _I'd love to,_ Weiss thought.  _I'd absolutely love to finally have someone to talk to, someone besides Rosanne that I am close with, someone who may care about me in another way besides as the only, miserable option to run their company._

"Yeah," Weiss said with false enthusiasm, her voice sounding as condescending as possible. "And we can try on clothes, and paint our nails, and talk about cute boys like..." Weiss temporarily glanced over her shoulder, and she saw the blonde boy that was helping Ruby earlier, "tall, blonde, and scraggily over there." Weiss couldn't explain why she had taken such a shot at the boy at first, but after saying those words she was able to realize why.

He was nice.

Nice people wouldn't survive in her world.

"Wow, really!" Ruby said. Weiss could see it.

The sparkle.

The happiness.

The triumph.

It almost hurt her to think about the fact that she was going to crush it.

But just as her earlier thoughts had reminded her of, nice people would not survive in her world.

"No," she said harshly. And then it fell. That light, the optimism, the happiness, it fell from the girl's eyes. Weiss averted her gaze, and crossed her arms.

 _I'm sorry,_ she thought. Weiss averted her stare from Ruby, and instead focused on the group of students next to them. None of them interested her in any way, but she couldn't look at Ruby. She couldn't risk any hint of betrayal from her eyes. _  
_

After a few more moments, Weiss heard a man clear his throat at the microphone. She looked up, and her eyes locked onto and identified him instantaneously. Professor Ozpin, the headmaster for Beacon Academy and one of the most respected men in all of Vale. Weiss actually heard her father say positive things about him, which was unusual for him. Her father hadn't said nothing but nice things, there was alway something wrong with everyone in his eyes.

But sometimes only one positive thing was enough to make Weiss believe that a better future would be held for her here then her home. She turned her ears over to him, and listened to his every word.

Once Ozpin had finished, they all got their final instructions for the day. Store your items in the locker rooms, head to the ballroom, sleep, and then the next day initiation would begin. As soon as they were dismissed, Weiss began to walk away from Ruby and her sister, making her way towards the lockers to store her stuff and change into her night ware. Her number one priority was to sleep, because the less darkness there was when she slept, the less that she had the ability to acknowledge what she truly was.

_The Next Morning: Beacon Locker Room_

Weiss had spent the rest of that night in a peaceful slumber. She only later heard of a small scuffle breaking out between Ruby and her older sister (which is when she learned that the blonde was named Yang) but it didn't trouble her. When Weiss slept, it was typically full of nightmares and memories. At first, Weiss had trouble with getting though a night. Over time, she learned how to sleep through them and her cold exterior didn't allow for anyone to see what it was that she saw in her dreams.

Now she was gathering her items from the locker that she had selected.

 _Myrtenaster, spare Dust, a fresh jacket,_ Weiss thought as she went through her checklist. She looked at the jacket for a few moments, but then set it aside. Bringing another jacket with her to initiation would've been completely pointless to the other students. It would draw suspicion, and Weiss knew about the nature of people.

Finding something to exploit in others was natural.

It was almost second nature to most humans.

And she was a more public figure, they would try to shoot her down as hard as they could.

Weiss closed her locker, and calmly sheathed Myrtenaster. She looked up from her locker, and glanced around the room. She noticed a few familiar faces, including Ruby's and Yang's, along with some unknown faces. But then Weiss' eyes gazed upon someone whom she had been actively looking for since she had entered into Beacon.

Pyrrha Nikos.

The star student from Sanctum.

Someone with a reputation for being kind and strong at the same time.

The perfect student to ally with and not worry about her past being dug into.

 _She has to lead me,_ Weiss thought.  _I can't lead. I cannot lead a team. Not while I'm a... Not while I'm this._ Weiss closed her locker, and gracefully walked over to Pyrrha, carrying with her that royal air that was all but beat into her at an early age.

"I'm terribly sorry to be bothering you," Weiss began. "But I was simply gathering my equipment from my locker, and I thought that you looked familiar. Are you Pyrrha Nikos by any chance?" The redheaded girl looked away from her locker, and smiled at Weiss.

"Yes, I am that girl," she said. "And you look like... Weiss Schnee." Weiss smiled, allowing the false gratitude of recognition to reach her eyes.

"Yes, that is I," Weiss replied. "I just wanted to come over and validate my suspicions."

"I am happy to be of service," Pyrrha replied. Weiss remained standing there for a few more moments before clearing her throat.

"So Pyrrha," she began. "Have you given any thought as to who's team you'd like to be on? I'm sure that everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well known individual such as yourself."

 _Just maybe not for the same reasons as I am,_ she thought.

"I'm not quite sure," Pyrrha admitted. "I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."

_I have to make my impression now._

"Well," Weiss began, putting on the nicest tone that she could muster. "I was thinking that maybe we could be on a team together."

"Well that sounds grand," Pyrrha said happily.

"Great!"

 _This will be perfect,_ Weiss thought.  _Someone with the track record of Pyrrha to lead a team that I am on. My parents will not question why I wasn't appointed as leader, and I can just be safe within my shell. No one will ever have to know..._

"Y'know what else is great?" Someone said. Weiss turned her head, and her expression soured instantaneously. "Me, Jaune Arc, nice to meet you."

 _A name to the face,_ Weiss thought.  _Now I know exactly who to hate._

"What're you doing here?" Weiss asked, her tone remaining both calm and spiteful.

"It's nice to meet you Jaune," Pyrrha said, stepping between Jaune and Weiss.

"Yeah, yeah," Jaune said, completely brushing aside Pyrrha. "So, Weiss, I couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day."

"Ugh, you cannot possibly be this clueless," Weiss hissed. She took one, hard step right towards Jaune. "Can you not discern the very function of sarcasm? Or did you just skip that theory amongst your school?" Jaune was stunned only for a brief moment, but then he seemed slightly defeated.

"Oh... So you weren't actually..." Weiss stared at his face, and watched as it fell. She felt a brief sting as she realized the sheer disappointment that he felt. But she had to remind herself.

Nice did not survive.

Nice didn't remain cold.

Nice would expose her.

"It's alright Jaune," Pyrrha said suddenly. She stepped up to Jaune, and calmly put a hand on his shoulder. "I think that you're wonderful. I'm sure that you would make a great teammate." Jaune's face brightened considerably, and he gave another hopeful look to Weiss.

"Well, she seems approving of me," Jaune said. "What about you?"

"Do you even have the remotest of ideas as to whom this is?" Weiss asked.

"Not in the slightest, snow angel." Weiss' eyes widened, and she was forced to take one step away from Jaune.

"W...W...What did you just call me?" Weiss asked, her throat straining to keep her voice from shaking.

"Uh-uh-uh, snow angel?" Jaune asked.

 _Birdy,_ Weiss heard. Her back began to be set aflame with pain, as all of her scars simultaneously began to burn. Weiss took one last look at Jaune, and stormed away from him and the rest of the locker room. She didn't care how arrogant she seemed, nor how realistic her reaction to what he said was, she could not let her eyes be shown, in case they betray her with tears.

 _Birdy,_ Weiss heard again.

 _Stop,_ Weiss thought.  _No more, no more, no more!_

_Birdy!_

_Please, make it stop!_

_Birdy back!_

Weiss finally saw the door that she was looking for, and she threw open the entrance to the bathroom. Weiss opened up one of the stall doors, and slammed it shut behind her. She cared not to if anyone else resided within the restroom, only that she was given a private area.

Weiss threw off her jacket, and sat down on the closed toilet seat. She kept quiet, unwilling to call out in pain. But that was all she could feel.

Every cut that she had ever felt.

Every particle of ice that she had ever placed on her back.

Every burn that she had ever inflicted.

And an endless supply of  _birdy back_ flowing through her mind.

All of them were crying for attention at the exact same time.

Her back was screaming in pain, as the scars where her wings had been residing all became active. She felt as though she was enduring lava being poured over her, making it almost impossible for her not to scream.

But somehow, she didn't. She kept quiet, ignoring the almost irresistible urge to let out the ghastly wail that was in her throat. Her back finally calmed down, allowing for her to rise to her feet. She put her hand on the bathroom stall, but then spotted her jacket lying on the ground. It would be bad if she were to forget that.

But would it? Her back could breathe, her scars could do more then just suffocate underneath the thick fabric of her jacket.

But then people would be able to see her scars. There are only a few things that you could possibly assume about her back scars, and while none of them were what was the actual fact, it would raise questions and draw suspicion.

Reluctantly, Weiss bent down to her jacket, and picked it up. She slowly placed it on her back, and then opened up the stall.

"Would all first year students report to Beacon cliffs for initiation," a voice said through the loudspeaker. "Again, would all first year students please report to Beacon cliffs for initiation." Weiss took in one final breath, and began the walk to Beacon Cliffs.

_Beacon Cliffs_

It had only taken a few moments for Weiss to get into position at Beacon Cliffs. The positioning was relatively easy for her to figure out, so long as a student chose to occupy an empty launch pad, then it was fine.

Her situation almost made her crack a smile. Weiss, an avian Faunus, standing on a launch pad, unable to use her best natural asset to reach the bottom. But Weiss still chose to refrain from demonstrating any emotions beyond the ones that she allotted herself.

"For years," Ozpin began. "You have trained to become warriors."

 _That appears to be debatable for some people,_ Weiss thought.  _Highly debatable for myself as well._

"And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

_Only the strong will make it, I approve of this tactic._

"Now," Ozpin's second in command, a woman whom Weiss had heard was named Glynda Goodwitch. "I'm sure that many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... Today."

 _Excepted_ _and acceptable,_ Weiss thought.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon," Ozpin continued. "So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well."

_Also expected and acceptable. It would make no sense to simply be paired with someone whom you cannot communicate with. I hope I can find Pyrrha._

"That being said," Ozpin continued. "The first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."

Weiss felt her heart shatter.

She wanted to scream and yell about the foolishness behind that logic.

But she remained as quiet and dignified as always, choosing not to do the things that she wanted to.

 _The odds that I will get paired with someone who has prying eyes is far more likely now,_ Weiss thought.  _What if... No, no that won't happen. I won't get discovered so soon. But if I do..._

Weiss shook the thoughts from her mind, and simply took her position on the platform. Her semblance, that would get her to the ground safely. She had already thought this through to the point of perfection, recognizing that anything shy of that mark might mean failure.

She heard it go off quietly. The first launch pad was fired.

Then the second.

The third.

One by one, the students were launched into the air. Until finally, it came to be Weiss' turn.

She felt the pad vibrate a slight amount as the spring fired, sending her into the air.

The wind felt so good.

It felt as though she was liberated.

 _Is this what it would feel like if I could fly?_ Weiss wondered.  _Is this... Is this what I've been missing?_

She finally took another moment to recognize her position, and she instantly placed a glyph in the air that she was traveling in. Her feet barely touched it as she leapt from that glyph into the air, her momentum only slightly slowed from this jump. But she knew that by the time she reached the ground, she would barely have anything to worry about in terms of breaking her fall.

 _Just keep up the rhythm,_ Weiss thought.  _So long as I keep it down to a rhythm, I'll be fine._

She placed down another glyph, and landed onto that one. She quickly leapt off of it, and setup another glyph for her to land on. Weiss elegantly bounced from glyph to glyph, taking extreme care to never make a single error.

_Perfection is all that I've ever been asked to give. I cannot fall short of it now._

She finally set down one last glyph, and bounced from that one to the ground. She landed with a very light puff of air, and then rose fully to her feet.

_And so the real test begins._

With that final thought, she set out into the forest.

It didn't take Weiss long to lose her proper sense of direction. It took even less time for her to realize how truly lost she had become, and Weiss allowed herself a small puff of frustration.

 _Where am I going?_ She wondered.  _Where is Pyrrha? Where is anyone with whom I can ally with? Where is... Anything?_

Weiss heard a skidding noise towards her side, and she stopped for a moment. Somewhat reluctantly, Weiss slowly turned her head over towards the sound of the skipping, and she felt her heart come to a standstill.

Red.

That was the first thing she saw.

The same red that she had seen falling into her supplies.

The same red that she had seen attempting to become her friend.

The same red that had attempted to be so nice.

The red that signified Ruby.

Weiss looked at her for a brief moment, and Ruby looked at her. Neither of them moved for a few moments, until Weiss finally just turned around and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Ruby yelled out. "Where're you going? We're supposed to be teammates."

 _And I'm not going to waste any time beginning to move along,_ Weiss thought.  _You can follow or you can pout, your decision._

Weiss continued along in the forest, not caring at all that her partner was completely absent. She came to a stop at the noises of someone struggling above her, and she begrudgingly looked up. She saw  _him_ again. The blonde boy who had successfully angered her more then any other student so far at Beacon.

He gave Weiss a weak laugh, and she just stared at him coldly. It only took her a moment to notice Pyrrha's spear pinning him to the tree, and she turned around and walked away from him.

 _So close to getting Pyrrha,_ Weiss thought sadly.  _Now I may be forced to lead my team. I am not ready, not ready to lead anything. A monster should not be in charge of the care of a team designed to fight monsters._

Weiss noticed Ruby still pouting, and she grabbed onto her red hood. It was pointless to try and move along without her partner, and it seemed as though Ruby couldn't figure out that Weiss simply wanted to get moving.

"You came back!" Ruby declared happily.

"I was never endeavoring to abandon you, dolt," Weiss said angrily. "I was merely attempting to commence our pursuit of the ruins."

"Oh," Ruby said, her voice perking up a little bit at the mention of Weiss never actually attempting to abandon her. "Well that's wonderful!" Weiss remained silent, and released Ruby from her grasp. The girl immediately brushed herself off a little bit, and then kept at her walking pace with Weiss.

"Why're you going so fast?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Because I do not wish to receive poor marks for this initial assignment," Weiss replied simply.

"Why?" Ruby asked.

_Because I was born as a horrible monster and now my parents expect to be repaid with perfection._

"Because it's not a good early impression," Weiss said simply. "Now, if you will please pick up the pace and-." In another instant, Weiss saw a flurry of rose petals appear around her and Ruby standing in front of her. "What the-?"

"Don't worry about me and going fast," Ruby said happily. "I can go a lot faster then anything else can, and by the end of the day you'll just think of me as your really, really cool teammate. Aaaaand we'll be great friends."

 _Is this a game to you?_ Weiss wondered silently.  _Is this all you view our situation as? A game? We could all perish and you're focus seems to be the same if you were playing a game._

Ruby finally turned back around, and took off in another flurry of petals. Weiss saw her go, and her face formed into a scowl.

"I'M SURE IT'S A TREMENDOUS PLAN TO LEAVE YOUR PARTNER IN THE DUST BECAUSE OF YOUR ACCELERATION," Weiss shouted. After a few more seconds, Ruby ran back to Weiss with an apologetic look on her face. "Imbecile," Weiss muttered.

"I'm really sorry Weiss," Ruby said. "I just thought that-."

"Clearly you didn't," Weiss spat back instantly. She started to walk away, Ruby able to catch up within a few moments. The girl in red finally took to silence, leaving Weiss with a small sense of accomplishment.

 _A friend would be amazing,_ Weiss thought.  _I want friends, just not her. Not someone like her. Not a... Not someone who remains the very thing I was never allowed to be._

"Where're we going?" Ruby asked suddenly. Weiss looked over to the girl in red with slight surprise, but recovered to her normal mask quickly.

"To the temple," Weiss said simply. "It shouldn't be a complicated affair."

"But do you know what direction the temple is?"

"Why are you even bothering to ask such a question?"

"Because you changed direction from where you were going back there. I just thought that maybe you didn't know where you were-."

"Quiet!" Weiss said suddenly. "I am not fully cognizant as to precisely where I am going, but I believe that this may be the general direction." Ruby nodded, determined to remain silent so as to avoid upsetting her partner again. What Ruby was unaware of was how little annoyance Weiss felt towards Ruby for asking that question. She was simply hoping that her false anger would silence Ruby, avoiding anything unnecessary coming up.

This silence carried on for the next leg of the journey. How much time had actually elapsed was beyond either one of the girls, but walking in the woods with little opposition made it feel like an eternity. Finally Weiss stopped to see if she couldn't guess the general direction, and Ruby just took to the floor. It only took Weiss a few moments to realize that she was really and truly lost.

"It might be this way," Weiss said, looking to her left. "No, it's definitely this way." This time, she changed direction and began walking towards her right. But then she began to feel saddened by the realization that this was the direction she had come from. She looked down at the ground and then down at her resting partner, and sighed. "We may have passed it."

"Why can't you just finally admit that you have no clue where you're going?" Ruby asked. Weiss felt a small seed of anger begin to be fed, one that had existed for a very long time.

"Because I know where we're going!" Weiss snapped. "I just... I am unaware of the exact route to take."

"Ugh," Ruby groaned.

"Oh as if you have even the remotest of ideas as to where we're going!"

"At least I don't pretend that I know what I'm doing," Ruby mumbled.

"Oh, what is that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked. "Please, do elaborate Ruby."

"It means that you're a big, stupid, jerk and I hate you!"

 _What an eloquent insult,_ Weiss thought angrily.  _If I were to ever take to an insult as petty as this, my father would have my head._

"We should just get moving," Weiss finally said.

"Oh, just keep moving?" Ruby asked. "That's your final answer?"

"It's not as if you have a better plan!" Weiss finally said, her frustration with her partner reaching a breaking point. "So stop behaving like a child who complains about every minute detail, and just get moving."

"Maybe if you stop treating me like a child, I'd do it," Ruby said.

"You have done nothing but behave as such!"

"And you're just been acting as though you're perfect!" Weiss staggered away from Ruby at the mention of that word, and her scars began to hurt.

 _And remember Weiss, we expect perfection from you,_ her father's voice said, ringing throughout the entirety of her head.  _Nothing but the best is going to be expected from you, because of who you are._

"I'm not perfect," Weiss said, her verbal response directed at both Ruby and the memory of her father. Her hand unconsciously floated up to the solitary visible scar, the one resting over her eye, and it stopped there for a moment. "Never let it be said that I am perfect." Weiss didn't say another word, and instead she turned and began to walk away from Ruby.

"Weiss! Wait!" Ruby yelled out.

"NO!" Weiss said angrily. "I will not wait for you, you're plenty fast enough to catch up."

"No, Weiss, I'm sorry," Ruby said. "I shouldn't have said anything, you were right." Weiss came to a dead stop, and looked back at Ruby.

 _Did she apologize?_ Weiss wondered.  _Did she just apologize for what happened?_

"I... I..." Weiss started. "I... I forgive you, Ruby." Weiss almost turned around as well, but instead spoke in the softest and a voice that almost revealed more then she had intended it too. "I apologize as well." She felt her body surge with an emotion that she wasn't familiar with. It wasn't happy, it wasn't sad, it wasn't relieved, and it certainly wasn't pain. It was just a feeling of good, one that may last her a long time.

"It's okay Weiss," Ruby replied. "I already forgave you." Weiss didn't smile at Ruby, she just began rebuilding her wall. Despite how sincere Ruby had been, losing her wall could've cost Weiss. It could've cost Weiss more then she was willing to pay for one friend.

"Weiss!" Ruby called out. Weiss turned around, her face back to it's frozen state of neutrality. "I have an idea on how to get to the temple quickly and how to find it too."

 _Ideally we'll do the second one first,_ Weiss thought.

"What?" Weiss asked with an unamused tone. Ruby pointed up into the sky, and grinned. Weiss lifted her stare to follow Ruby's finger, and she felt her heart, once again, come to a standstill.

It was a Nevermore.

It wasn't poised to attack them, but Weiss knew what Ruby meant.

She wanted to ride it.

 _I wish that I could do what you do,_ Weiss had said to Eds all those years ago _. I wish that I had the option to fly away like you can. But I can't. You're supposed to have wings, I'm not._

"Absolutely not!" Weiss said instantly. "I am not getting on that... Thing!"

"C'mooon Weiss," Ruby said. "It'll get us there fast and it'll let us see the land."

 _I don't want to fly,_ Weiss thought.  _I want to be rid of these things, I want to lose them and never gain them again. I don't want this... Tease of what it may be like!_

"I am not going to ride into the forest temple of the back of a monster!" Weiss said. "Plus, how would we even get to it?"

"I could shoot my way up there," Ruby explained. "But I don't actually know if-." Ruby came to a dead stop as she realized that she had no ways for getting Weiss up to the Nevermore. "I don't know, I just thought that maybe we could do that since we really don't have too many other options..."

 _Flight,_ Weiss thought.  _Flight._

_Birdy back!_

_Flight..._

_Birdy back!_

_We truly have no other way to reach the temple at this point._

_Birdy back!_

_I have to swallow my fears and do more then just mask my emotions._

_Birdy back!_

_I can't let this be what fills my head._

"I can summon glyphs with my semblance," Weiss finally said. "I can employ them to carry both of us to the Nevermore."

"You will?" Ruby asked, that child-like exuberance that was so often present in her voice returning. Weiss stared into her eyes and saw the hopes that rested inside of them, and she just felt pain.

 _A child,_ Weiss thought.  _I am dealing with a child... Is this what it would've been like? Would I have been this happy? This hopeful? This... Excited? Is this what a child looks like?_

In the moment, she couldn't say no.

"Of course," Weiss said. "I will do it, PURELY BECAUSE there is no other way."

"Yes!" Ruby said excitedly. "Now, let's work on getting up to this thing."

It hadn't actually taken the duo too long to work their way towards the Nevermore. The Grimm itself seemed oddly complacent to allow the girls to travel onto it's back. Both Ruby and Weiss had to hold on tight to the beast as it started to fly around, making absolutely no effort to lose the girls on it's back. But very, very quickly Weiss realized what a terrible mistake she had made.

"RUBY!" Weiss roared. "REMIND ME WHAT ABHORRENT JUDGEMENT LAPSE PERSUADED ME TO AGREE TO THIS?"

"C'MON WEISS, THIS IS FUN!" Ruby yelled back. But Weiss was not having any fun. She was clinging on for dear life on the back of a giant bird. This flight alone was making Weiss realize that maybe flying wasn't all that she had made it out to be within her mind.

"THIS IS NOT FUN! THIS IS NOT FUN IN THE ABSOLUTE SLIGHTEST!"

"WEISS, LOOK!" Ruby yelled out. "LOOK, THE TEMPLE!" Weiss looked down hesitantly, and noticed that Ruby was correct. But she immediately noticed an issue with Ruby's plan.

"HOW IN THE WORLD DO WE DEPART FROM THIS THING?" Weiss screamed.

"WHY DON'T WE JUST JUMP?" Ruby offered.

"WHAT ARE YOU? INSANE?" By the time Weiss got a good look at where Ruby was, she noticed the complete absence of her red hooded partner. "OH YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE RED BRAT!" Weiss continued to cling onto the Nevermore, not quite sure as to what to do.

Ruby most likely wouldn't survive, leaving her down a partner already. If she were to die at this moment, her scars might not be discovered. Her back would be fragmented into so many pieces, that her scars may be completely erased from history. That wasn't so bad, was it?

With one final puff of air, Weiss let go of the Nevermore and let herself fall. She simply made sure that her back was facing the ground, and closed her eyes.

Funny, wasn't it? An avian Faunus to die plummeting to the ground. It was a cruel sort of end that normally was only reserved for a story.

Weiss suddenly felt something come into contact with her body, and she looked over to see the Arc boy holding onto her.

"Just dropping in?" He asked. Weiss looked at him for a moment, but then looked down at the ground. Both of them were still falling, and their momentum was only slowed a little. It took Jaune one more moment to come to the same realization. "Oh god."

"Dimwit," Weiss muttered. Both of them started to fall to the ground, Jaune's armor causing him to reach the bottom faster then Weiss. Weiss had a moment to to realize where she was falling, before landing squarely on Jaune's back. Without another word, she got up to her feet.

 _I'm alive?_ She wondered.  _I... I actually lived. It seems as though today is not my day to die, unfortunately._ Weiss looked to where her partner was standing, miraculously not only alive but with her sister and the girl in black from the prior day. Weiss walked over towards the familiar faces, but she heard a single impact noise and watched as the red headed Amazon that she had tried to ally with earlier came sailing through the air.

Pyrrha landed squarely at everyone's feet, leaving Weiss to pause for a moment to wonder what had hit her. Her gaze finally strayed towards where the impact was first heard, and she saw a large Death Stalker slowly approaching the group.

"Great!" Yang said, her voice filled with false enthusiasm. "The gang's all here, now we can die together!"

"Not if I can help it," Ruby said suddenly. She pulled out her weapon, a large scythe, and sprinted towards the Death Stalker.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang yelled out.

 _I have a suicidal partner,_ Weiss thought.  _I would go to a legendary combat school and end up with a partner with a death wish. I just can never seem to be let off easy, can I?_

Weiss passively watched as the Death Stalker beat back every attempt that Ruby made at breaking through it's defenses, and consistently kept the red hooded girl at a distance. Finally, Ruby made the right choice and just stared to run back to the generally group. Weiss watched as Yang took off from everyone else to reach her sister to potentially aid her, but Weiss just waited.

_Ruby can make it back here, she's plenty fast enough._

But then, something Weiss didn't account for happened. The Nevermore circled back, and let loose a torrent of feathers. One of them managed to catch Ruby's cloak, pinning her firmly to the ground. The Death Stalker continued it's advance, and Weiss felt her eyes widen.

_Not suicidal, but she will die if someone doesn't intervene. And if I just let her die, I am no better then my father._

Weiss raised Myrtenaster, and flew from her position. She glided over the ground, using a slight Dust boost to keep her feet from ever needing to touch the floor. She reached the Death Stalker, and calmly stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground. A column of ice flew up from the ground and reached the Death Stalker's stinger, just before it could truly begin it's downward arc. The relief of knowing that she had not idly watched as someone died caused Weiss to speak without truly thinking.

"You are so childish," she began.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked, her voice sounding slightly surprised.

"And hyperactive, and dimwitted," Weiss continued. "And don't even get me started on that hero move that you just so poorly attempted to pull. But if you want to live, you cannot do things like this again, and you and I must coordinate what it is that we're going to do. And maybe we'll have to-." Weiss hesitated, and then she slowly forced the words out of her mouth. "We'll have to trust each other more."

"I just didn't want to only have dumb plans," Ruby said. "I wanted to show you that I could do this."

"And the best way to do that was to full on charge the Death Stalker?" Weiss asked. "Never mind, I'm going to pretend that you didn't just join your plan with those words." Ruby pouted a little bit, and Weiss sighed at her. "Ruby, we're going to have to do this together, understood?" The girl in the red hood nodded at Weiss, and let a warm smile loose at the cold heiress. Weiss stared at it for only a moment, before making the conscious decision to smile back.

_Later_

The next piece of the Emerald Forest hadn't been completed easily. The group of students (a total of 8, Yang, the girl in black, or Blake as Weiss now knew, Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Pyrrha, and two other students named Ren and Nora) had to take down the Nevermore and Death Stalker. The Nevermore had been killed off of a plan of Ruby's, while the Death Stalker had been defeated by good coordination from Jaune (which had surprised Weiss to hear about).

Then the rest of forest had been relatively easy. Minimal opposition, smooth travels, and apparently they hadn't ended up as far from Beacon as most of them had originally presumed.

Then they had been assigned to their teams. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang had been assigned to team RWBY. Ruby was declared leader by Ozpin, which surprised Weiss slightly but she had to remember two things. It was Ruby's plan that had killed the Nevermore, and Ruby was still a better selection than a monster.

Now everything was winding down. All of the students had retired to their dorms for the first time for four years, and most of them had fallen asleep. Most of them.

Even though her team was slumbering, Weiss remained awake. Her night clothes were on, including her night jacket, and she sat awake by the window. There was one thing that, no matter how much she cut her wings, would never go away. Her night vision.

She could see the campus of Beacon below her in crystal clarity. The school looked beautiful at night. There was no sound to take away from the calm nature, no people to clog the view, just the true beauty to rest within her eyes.

Weiss felt something slowly come to her eyes as she stared out into the scene that, without a clock, she barely would've known was night. It was tears. The tears to end a long and grueling day, and tears to finally let loose some of the emotions that she had kept penned up for so long.

Even now, she had herself a team and all she felt was loneliness. She knew that even now, she didn't have three new friends. She had three people that'd be close to her for four years, and it would most likely fall upon Weiss to keep her wings hidden.

 _Maybe they'll be nice?_ Weiss thought.  _Maybe they'll... Maybe... I don't know. I don't know._ Weiss blinked away the last of a very small amount of tears, and walked to her bed.

Rest would come easily tonight, a gift that she knew would not last for too much longer.

**End: Woo, that was long and I can say that I don't think every chapter will be quite this long. Apologies for the delay in release. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is always appreciated.**


	3. Initial Ice Test

Broken Wings Ch. 3: Initial Ice Test

 

Dreamless.

That was the only way to describe Weiss' sleep.

It was a blessing ultimately, one that made her extremely happy.

When she dreamed, she dreamed of pain and birds.

For now, she was rid of it.

Weiss' eyes opened up very slowly, and she very silently rose to a seated position. She very silently took a look around her, and noticed that two other members of her team were still sleeping. There was only one who was still awake, and it was the raven haired girl.

"Morning," the girl said in a soft voice.

"Good morning," Weiss replied politely. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long," Blake replied. "I didn't think any of you would wakeup this early, most people don't wake up this early."

 _Years of nightmares of my own father separating pieces of my body from me really has made my sleep cycle a bit different,_ Weiss thought.

"My family conditioned me to wake up on a regulated schedule," Weiss replied. "It made attending my private lessons slightly easier." A half lie was better then the full truth, but a half lie was also easier to sell. Blake didn't react to her words, merely looked away from Weiss. Weiss didn't make an attempt at conversation with Blake, fearing that her cold shell would be broken if she attempted to speak so soon after waking up.

Within an hour, Weiss and Blake changed into the Beacon uniforms and Ruby woke up and forced her sister out of bed. It was clear how excited Ruby was for the day, just by the wide smile resting on her face when she awoke. She was only just able to keep from bouncing off of every wall in their small dorm, which made Weiss smile internally. Externally she was sure to wear a disapproving frown, but quietly she felt happy to see Ruby getting to be a kid.

"Gooooooooood morning teaaaaaaaam RWBY!" Ruby said enthusiastically.

And suddenly Weiss' frown became more then just external.

"Now that all of us are up, we can officially begin our first orders of business!" Ruby exclaimed.

"... What?" Weiss managed.

"Decorating!" Yang cried out. Weiss looked over to Blake, sensing that the girl may be her best option for a voice of reason.

"We still have to unpacked," Blake said. She calmly lifted up one of her bags, and the contents spilled out onto the floor. "Aaaaaand clean."

 _Well isn't this morning shaping up to be a lovely morning..._ Weiss thought sardonically.

"Aaaaaalright!" Ruby shouted. "Weiss, Blake, Yang, and their fearless leader Ruby have begun their first mission. Bonsai!"

"Bonsai!" Yang and Blake echoed. Weiss stared at them blankly, and then looked back at her suitcases. The only things she had brought were her clothes. She didn't have any photos of her family or posters of anything to bring with her. She had quite literally only brought clothes to put on her back.

"I suppose the swiftest way through this is to start it," Weiss said dejectedly.

"That's the spirit Weiss!" Ruby called out. Weiss sighed, and walked over to her suitcases.

She quickly unpacked all of them, and stored the clothes in the dresser. Several copies of similar items, the jacket remaining constant throughout her outfits, all stored away calmly. After she was done, Weiss watched everyone else work.

Yang hung up a poster of some kind of boy band, Blake unpacked multiple books, and Ruby just zipped from place to place to watch over things.

Weiss smiled sadly as all of them seemed to have something a little bit more personal to them, while Weiss choose to remain without that item. Of course, it was simply because there was nothing personal that she owned. The way she was raised saw to that.

After everything was unpacked and put up, Weiss realized that all of the beds had become a messy pile in the middle of the room.

 _Well isn't this wonderful?_ Weiss wondered.  _Now where are we going to sleep?_

"This isn't going to work," Weiss finally said.

"It is a bit cramped..." Blake agreed hesitantly.

"Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff?" Yang offered.

 _Common sense being displayed by the entirety of the group,_ Weiss thought.  _Finally, perhaps they're not as bad as I initially-._

"Or we could ditch the beds," Ruby muttered. "Aaaand replace them with bunk beds!" She shouted.

_Moment's past._

"That seems incredibly dangerous," Weiss said.

"Aaaaaand super awesome!" Yang called out.

"It does seem efficient," Blake agreed.

 _What is wrong with everyone?_ Weiss wondered.

"I am strongly apposed to this idea," Weiss said haughtily.

"But nobody else is," Blake said. "In a democratic system, I believe that we win. In fact, in any system we'd win because the leader agrees with us."

"Fine," Weiss said. "We will assemble the bunk beds..."

The four girls spent the next few minutes fixing up makeshift bunk beds. The one that was designated to Weiss and Ruby was held up purely by ropes, while the one designated to Blake and Yang was only held up by books that Blake was choosing not to read.

 _I've spent so many years in my life wishing for death,_ Weiss thought.  _Just for a way out of the pain, and it looks like I'm going to be killed by a bed, gravity, and idiocy._

"Alright!" Ruby said happily. "Our second order of business isssssssssssssssss! Classes..." Ruby's voice lost most of it's enthusiasm at the word, classes. "Now, we have a few classes together today. At nine we've got-."

"At nine?" Weiss interjected instantly. "Do you mean nine o' clock?"

"Uhm...?"

"IT'S 8 FIFTY FIVE YOU DUNCE!" Weiss called out. She instantly took off out the door, and made a beeline straight for their first class. She didn't care if the rest of her team was behind her, but she couldn't have a black mark on her attendance sheet the first day of class.

 _Late on the first day,_ she could hear her father saying.  _How incredibly disappointing that is, not to mention intolerable. Do you remember the last time you put a black mark on our family's legacy?_

Weiss shook the voice from her mind, and continued her pursuit to class.

Weiss arrived into class a few moments ahead of her team, along with the other four students that had aided them in the Emerald Forest (team JNPR as they were now known). She hurriedly got to her seat, and watched as everyone else fell into place shortly after her. Weiss immediately pulled out a book for note taking, and looked over at the professor.

He was an older man, one who clearly had a lot of experience. But he was also a man who had let himself go, falling onto the more plump side of the weight spectrum. He had a gray mustache that shielded his mouth, and Weiss began to wonder exactly what kind of class she was in.

"Welcome to Grimm studies!" The professor boomed. "My name is Peter Port, and I will be your teacher."

 _At least I know what class I'm in,_ Weiss thought.

"Monsters," the professor said instantly.

_I regret this already._

"Deeeeeemons. Yes, the creatures of Grimm go by many names. But I merely call them... Prey! Haha!" His words were only greeted by silence, and immediately Weiss longed for any of the teachers she had back home. At least they taught something.

He carried on in his speech, loosing the interest of most of his forced audience almost immediately. Weiss did her best to remain focused, but she found it difficult to do. Her ears picked up on the sound of a pencil furiously working, and Weiss turned her head to see her partner working quietly. She inwardly smiled, happy to see that her teammate was taking the class so seriously.

But it was shattered upon seeing the childish image that the girl had drawn. It was just a stick version of Port, labeled simply,  _Professor Poop._

"Pay attention!" Weiss hissed instantly. Ruby, Blake, and Yang all couldn't contain themselves from snickering a little bit, leaving Weiss to sit there in fury.

 _How is she not taking this seriously?_ Weiss wondered.  _The amount of people who would kill to be here, the fact that I was more then willing to kill to be here, and she is treating her assignment like a joke. Who does she think she is?_

Weiss forced her thoughts back to the class, and noticed the professor going through a checklist of things. He kept describing a true huntress, something that Weiss knew she could never be.

"Now," he said suddenly. "Who believes themselves to be the embodiment of a true huntsman?"

Silence.

Silence was the only thing that greeted him.

A room full of hunter and huntress hopefuls, and not one of them said a word.

"Oh," Port replied. "I suppose that this is a shy crop this year. No matter! How about a volunteer from the group of more laugh-prone students." He calmly looked over RWBY, causing Weiss to inwardly smile.

 _Take it seriously next time,_ she thought.

"How about you, Ms. Schnee?" Port said suddenly.

_I hate you all._

"Of course," she replied politely. Weiss calmly rose to her feet, and looked over at him.

"What a well mannered reply!" Port exclaimed. "Now, why don't you come up here and prove it?" He held his arm outward, and Weiss noticed a single cage resting there. Her eyes were already able to pick out the pair of red eyes that lay in the cage.

"Of course," she said, her voice remaining polite and even. Weiss stepped down onto the floor, and drew Myrtenaster. She looked straight at the cage, and narrowed her eyes.

 _Single combat,_ she thought.  _This is exactly what I was trained to do. Things like the Knight, they were all tests to prove my single combat skills. I can do this. I can win a single fight. But against what Grimm?_

"Goooooo Weiss!" Yang called out.

"Fight well!" Blake added in.

"Yeah Weiss, represent teaaaaaaaam RWBY!" Ruby finally called out.

"I am trying to concentrate!" Weiss finally snapped. "Keep it down!"

"Oh," Ruby replied. Weiss re-centered Myrtenaster, and stared down the cage.

"Let the match," the professor exclaimed. "Begin!" He brought down his own weapon (a mix of a blunderbuss and an axe) on the lock, and the cage door fell open. Weiss immediately identified her opponent as a Boarbatusk, a smaller Grimm with an armored hide, and she watched it walk out of the cage.

Almost instantly, it charged at her. Weiss rolled out of the way, and took a defensive swipe at it to test it's armor. Even with the sharpened edge on Myrtenaster, it had no effect. The beast simply kept moving forward, not even noticing the damage.

"Haha!" The professor called out. "Wasn't expecting that, were you?"

 _Not entirely,_ Weiss thought.

"Hang in there Weiss!" Ruby yelled out. Weiss shook her head, and rushed forward. She attempted to bring her weapon into one of the beasts eyes, but it anticipated her movement and turned it's head. The new angle was just enough so that her weapon got stuck between it's two tusks.

"Bold new approach, I like it," Port said.

"Come on Weiss, show it who's boss," Ruby contributed.

_I am so glad that I have two incredibly helpful sources of input in the background._

The beast sensed her momentary lapse in concentration, and violently turned it's head to throw Myrtenaster behind it. Instantly the Grimm followed up this attack with a single hit to knock Weiss to the back of the room.

"Oho, now what will you do without your weapon?" Port challenged.

_Nothing._

Weiss watched as the Boarbatusk ran forward, and calmly rolled out of the way. Luckily for her, the Grimm kept along a straight line directly into the wall. Weiss charged away from the Grimm, and picked up Myrtenaster from the ground. She held it in front of her, and waited for the Grimm to charge again.

"Weiss!" Ruby called out. "Go for it's belly, there's no armor undernea-."

"I KNOW!" Weiss finally yelled. Ruby stopped talking instantly, and Weiss did not continue looking on to see any of the other results of her words. She watched as the Boarbatusk got into a ball, and began to roll forward at her. She raised up a glyph, which met the Grimm head on. It was knocked onto it's back, and Weiss took the opportunity to propel herself with another glyph to add on more force to her sword's thrust. The pig shrieked out one more time, and then stopped moving altogether.

 _It's done,_ Weiss thought. She pulled her sword out of the Grimm, and sheathed it.

"Bravo!" Port boomed. "Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress in training."

_If only you realized how false those words were._

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today," Port continued. "Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and, stay vigilant! Class dismissed."

Weiss instantly turned to return to her dorm, wanting to get the work done and be done with everything. But on her way, Weiss heard something she really did not want to hear.

"Weiss!" Ruby yelled out.

"What?" Weiss responded.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being-?"

"What's wrong with me?"

 _More things then you will ever know,_ she thought.

"What's wrong with you?" Weiss shot back instead. "When I met you in the Emerald Forest, you behaved akin to a child. I made the false assumption that you would put together a concerted effort to behave as more than just a child, but you have done nothing of the sort!"

"Weiss, where is this coming from?" Ruby asked. "I thought that you and I were closer after the forest?"

_We are you idiot! You just have to show that my only way out of hell is serious to you as well!_

"Then you should've avoided behaving with such adolescence," she fired back. Weiss turned her back to Ruby, and took a deep breath in.

"Ozpin, made, a mistake," she said simply.

With that, Weiss left Ruby. She left her there, most likely crushed, feeling doubtful, confused, but Weiss didn't care. It was time for her to learn how harsh the real world could be, along with how harsh the consequences could be that accompanied it. Weiss considered this a very polite introduction to the way that things could be.

Now she couldn't return to her dorm, that much Weiss knew. At the very least, Blake and Yang would be there. While neither of them had behaved as if they were a small child such as Ruby had, she knew that they would most likely fall to Ruby's side. Normal people didn't do what Weiss had done, but she didn't care.

Monsters behave differently then normal people.

She found herself outside, and Weiss diverted her attention to the setting sun. She smiled briefly, but then shielded the expression underneath her cold mask.

Weiss noticed Port standing across the way from her, and she had a sudden urge to speak with him. Although the man was loud, self-absorbed, arrogant, and obnoxious, he seemed intelligent. Weiss wanted to have a conversation with someone that didn't end with her giving off a strong feeling of disproval or anger.

"Professor Port!" Weiss yelled out. The professor turned around, and lifted his head up at her.

"Ms. Schnee!" He boomed back. "To what do I owe this fine pleasure?"

 _This is more of what I'm accustomed to,_ she thought happily.

"I thoroughly enjoyed your lecture today," she replied formally.

"Why of course you did," he replied. "You have the blood of a true huntress."

_Lies that you let grow are just as bad as the ones you spread, but this one can only keep me shielded._

"Something seems to be troubling you," he noticed. Weiss looked at him, and nodded slightly. "Dear girl, confess to me your strife!"

"I don't believe that Ruby should have been named team leader," Weiss said instantly. Port eyed her cautiously, and lowered his head.

"And who do you believe should be leader instead?" He challenged.

"Perhaps Blake," Weiss replied thoughtfully. "She seems... Intelligent, strong, and more centered then Ruby."

"Centered doesn't surprise enemies in battle!" Port fired back. "But what I find interesting here, why not yourself? Typically a girl who would grow up in the Schnee household would view herself as the rightful leader of any team here at Beacon."

"Professor, please," Weiss said instantly. She could feel her back beginning to burn, and she did her best to focus forward on the conversation. "I have my own reasons for knowing that I would be the absolutely least licensed person to lead a team."

"Intriguing," the professor replied. "Well, what I will say Ms. Schnee, is that Professor Ozpin is a man who has never once lead me astray in all of my years of knowing him. That mine is wise, and he did not simply pick Ruby for how she is now, but how she will be. The girl did not get into Beacon this young by a fluke."

 _That would make sense,_ she thought.

"In four years, Ruby Rose could be an exceptional huntress," he continued. "We will simply have to wait and see. Does this make sense to you, Ms. Schnee?" Weiss took one breath in, and looked Port straight in the eyes.

"Yes sir," she replied calmly.

"Then prove it," he challenged. "Be there to support her in her journey, and she will do the same for you. It is a team after all, you are not a single fighter." Weiss nodded once more.

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome. Now, I believe you have business to attend to." Port looked up from Weiss, and brought his gaze to the school behind her.

 _Yes,_ Weiss thought.  _Yes I do..._

"Of course," Weiss replied politely. She watched as Port left, and Weiss took a seat on one of the benches laid out for her.

 _I have to apologize,_ Weiss thought.  _I know I have to. But if I am to do it, I cannot say more then what I intend to._

She looked back at the sun, and took in several deep breaths.

 _Ruby,_ she began thinking.  _I profusely apologize for the way I was acting- What are the odds she even knows that word? It's already time to retry this._

And that was how Weiss spent her afternoon. She carefully calculated every word of her apology, not because it was insincere, but so that she wouldn't slip up her words.

When the Sun set, Weiss made the decision that her apology was ready. She rose to her feet, and made her way back to the dorms.

 _I can't sound like a machine,_ she thought.  _I have to make it sound like it isn't_ _rehearsed, even though clearly it is._

Weiss took in a deep breath, and opened up the door to the dorm.

She heard the deep snores of Yang.

She heard the quiet breaths of Blake.

And she heard quieter snores from Ruby.

_Looks like I'll have to wake her. Hopefully she's a light sleeper._

Weiss walked over to Ruby's bed, and instantly noticed something.

Paper.

But it wasn't just blank sheets of paper, they all had text on them.

Ruby was studying.

Weiss hesitated to move. Ruby had done what Weiss had been so furious with her for not doing earlier.

She was taking it seriously.

Taking in one more breath, Weiss calmly shook Ruby. There was a few moments of nothing, but then the girl got straight up.

"Weiss!" Ruby said. "I was studying, and then I fell asleep, and I'm sorry." Weiss raised up her hand to signal for Ruby to be quiet, and then looked over at the empty coffee cup beside her.

"How do you take your coffee?" Weiss asked.

_This is not what I planned._

"I don't..." Ruby said idly.

"Just answer the question," Weiss immediately said, cutting Ruby off.

"Cream and five sugars!"

"Of course you would," Weiss grumbled. "Hang on." She grabbed the coffee cup, and filled it up with coffee. She added in the five sugars, and then gave it back to Ruby. "Here."

"Thanks," Ruby said gratefully.

"Ruby," Weiss said immediately after, trying to keep her tone even. "You and I have been at odds since we've met, and this is due in extensive parts to me. You have been remarkably immature, however I also recognize your intentions. I will do my best, Ruby, to ensure that I support you so that you can... You can excel." Ruby smiled at Weiss, and nodded.

"I promise I won't let you down," Ruby said.

"I sincerely hope you won't," Weiss replied quickly. She dropped down from the bed, and looked towards the door.

_One more walk._

She stepped towards the door, and stole a look back at Ruby. She could see the girl watching her as she left, and briefly Weiss pondered staying. It wasn't as if things were going to remain completely bitter between the two, and it certainly wasn't as though Weiss wanted to remain on bad grounds with Ruby. But she needed time, time to clear her head.

Weiss walked out the door without another word, and left to browse Beacon.

Weiss wandered the halls alone, her eyes allowing her to see absolutely everything that was in the school. She smiled to herself, knowing that no one was there to see the emotion. It never ceased to amaze her at how little appreciation you could get for things when they were shrouded by the veil of people.

Soon, Weiss came to a room. It was large, open, and it had a large stage right in the middle of it. Instantly, Weiss took a step back.

She had only ever been in a room like this twice.

The second time, it was merely to perform.

The first time, it was for another reason.

One that left Weiss with the only scar she ever allowed to be visible.

She felt herself become taken back in a memory.

_Weiss Schnee: Age 14_

It had been one year since she had first received Myrtenaster, and one year since she had started cutting off her own wings. Things had accelerated quickly for Weiss. Her combat and academics were coming along at a rate much faster then anyone could've predicted, causing Weiss to feel some satisfaction. Gratitude was an emotion she so rarely came by, that she would take every second of it.

But she should've known that it wasn't going to last long.

She had been in the sparring room, practicing idly with Myrtenaster, when she heard a dreaded voice behind her.

"Weiss."

"Father."

Ritter approached her, and looked her straight in the eyes.

"You are completing all of your instructors drills deftly," he said. "I must say, the improvement in one year alone is astounding."

"Thank you, father," Weiss replied stiffly.

"But now it is time to see if you are as good as you seem to believe," he continued. "Come with me, to the amphitheater." Without waiting for a response, knowing full and well that Weiss was forced to follow him no matter what, he turned and left. Weiss took in a deep breath, and followed him closely.

Weiss didn't know what her father had wanted, she really couldn't have known. She chose to display and feel no emotions, simply accepting whatever was going to happen.

But then they arrived at the amphitheater, and Weiss saw it instantly.

Silver.

Large.

Armored.

It was one of the Dust Knights that her father had a hand in creating. They were supposed to be a new, high end form of defense for the kingdom. Most importantly, they were supposed to be deadly.

"Father?" Weiss asked.

"This will be your opponent," he said, ignoring her completely. "Full contact, no defense for you, let's see if you're really knowledgable enough to take down this foe."

"Father, you can't be serious," Weiss said. "This is extraordinarily advanced for where I am, I could perish in combat."

"And?"

Weiss stared at him blankly. She felt herself shatter into a thousand pieces, as the truth was once again forced onto her.

_And?_

He didn't care if she died.

_And?_

If she died, he could start over with a child.

_And?_

If she died, he would be rid of the disgrace.

_And?_

He wasn't doing this to test her, he was doing this to try and kill her.

_Birdy back!_

"Father," Weiss said, her voice losing it's normal even temper. "Please."

That was when he hit her.

He struck her straight across the face, without a single moments question.

"Do not question me!" He ordered. "Get up there, and fight it!"

The hit hadn't been particularly hard, nor violent. But it was enough to bring memories into Weiss' mind. Memories to the first time Ritter had hurt her intentionally, and his always flawed logic for why he was doing it.

"Yes sir," she said blankly.

With those words, Weiss had fought the Knight. It had gone down, not easily, but it fell. But Weiss had not escaped completely unharmed. She received a blow that left an open wound on her face, one that she could tell would scar, right over her left eye.

She had taken it in stride, however. Pain was no longer a huge issue for her, she could ignore it. Weiss got back up, and beat it. Upon exiting the stage, she found the cold stare of her father awaiting her.

"You suffered an injury," he said simply, his voice showing neither content or displeasure with the situation.

"Yes, father," Weiss replied.

"You would be wise to correct that the next time." He turned around, and left Weiss standing there. She watched as his white suit left the room, and then she dropped to the floor and started crying.

"It's a lovely evening, isn't it Ms. Schnee?" Someone said in the present.

Weiss snapped out of her memory, and looked over at her new guest. She immediately identified coat, glasses, and silver hair.

"Professor Ozpin?" She asked.

"Ms. Schnee," he repeated calmly. "It's a lovely evening." Weiss felt herself grow incredibly confused for a few moments, but then she settled down.

"Indeed it is."

"Lovely enough to the point where you may come to an amphitheater and sit for an hour." Weiss hung her head down, and silently cursed herself for losing track of time.

"My apologies," she said. "I was lost in a memory."

"Of which I'm sure you have many involving places like this," Ozpin replied slyly. "You were a singer for a short period of time, were you not?"

"We pursued my performing talents, yes," Weiss replied politely.

"But you do still have activities tomorrow," Ozpin said. "It would be wise if you were to get some rest now, wouldn't it?" Weiss rose to her feet, and curtsied for Ozpin.

"Yes sir." Weiss turned to leave, but Ozpin calmly put a hand on her shoulder.

"Ms. Schnee," he said.

"Yes sir?"

"Do you always do what those in power tell you to without question?" Weiss was silent for a few moments as she thought up the appropriate response, but her mind settled onto one thing.

"Yes sir." Ozpin smiled at her, and shook his head.

"You and I will have many things to dispute then," he said simply. "Now go, get rest Ms. Schnee."

"Yes sir." Weiss turned, and walked away from Ozpin. Once she was in the hall, Weiss ran.

She wanted to get away from that place, she wanted to be free of Ozpin for now.

She wanted to go into the nightmare that would be sleep.

It was easier to die in a dream then to live a lie that you didn't choose.

**End: Sorry that this was a much shorter chapter, but for a lot of reasons I didn't want to mesh this arc with the Blake arc (the Jaune Arc will be skipped). Otherwise, questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is always appreciated.**


	4. Conflicting Songs

Broken Wings Ch. 4: Conflicting Songs

**First off, let's not talk about Winter and how her existence completely fucks up my plans. As far as I'm concerned, Winter doesn't exist for this story. Second off, irregular updates will be a lot more common now. I am back in school, plus I have my rotation, plus I've been doing a couple of one-shots. So the updates may be this** **infrequent, even though I don't want them to be. Let's resume.**

Things carried out without much deviation from a more expected course for the next month or so. Weiss maintained a good distance between herself and anyone outside of her team, allowing the remainder of RWBY to stay just a little bit closer to her.

Her dedication to keeping out of other team's affairs wound up playing very well for her, when Jaune appeared to get into some issues with CRDL. The important thing was that they resolved whatever it was, leaving Weiss and the rest of RWBY to their own devices.

Her wings had started to get decently large, forcing Weiss to wrap them. The thoughts had started to enter her mind about cutting them.

Everything seemed to be going very smoothly for Weiss. Excellent grades, excellent sparring results, excellent everything.

Weiss knew it couldn't maintain for too much longer.

But for now, the day was upon her where students would be arriving from other kingdoms. Being ever so formal, Weiss politely suggested that they go and greet the other students as they arrived. She figured that it would make sense with the character that she was trying so desperately to portray.

Her team agreed to do it, fortunately enough for her, and they were walking around on the docks. Even more fortunate, people were setting up for the Vytal Festival, making her story seem all the more likely.

"Remind me again why we're at the docks today?" Yang suddenly said, breaking the current spell of silence that the team had been in.

"They smell like fish," Ruby complained.

 _A story is a story,_ Weiss thought.

"New students shall be arriving today from other kingdoms," Weiss explained out loud. "I believe that as a representative of Beacon, it is our job to welcome them to Vale."

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have an edge in the tournament," Blake said instantly, using what she had come to a conclusion of.

"Quiet!" Weiss snapped. While her reaction at first had been genuine, she realized how much further into the character it actually wound up playing.

_I've gotten far too good at this part..._

"Woah," Ruby said suddenly, noticing something out of Weiss' view. The four girls all turned to match where Ruby was turning, and they all took a brief moment to pause.

Ruby had spotted a Dust shop. But this one had broken glass littering the ground around it, police everywhere, hazard tape, everything.

"What happened here?" Ruby asked, walking towards the scene.

"Robbery," one of the detectives said. "Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle." Weiss felt herself start to slowly zone away from reality, finding a memory lodged deep within her attempted blocks.

_Father, is something troubling you?_

_Dust robberies. They're everywhere, hitting everything!_

_Who are?_

_Faunus. Those animals are dismantling our empire! I swear, they will continue to pay._

_... Continue?_

"Weiss!"

She snapped back to reality, and jumped slightly at the slight yell. She looked over to where it had come from, seeing the face of her leader staring worriedly back at her.

"You okay?"

"Yes," Weiss said, her voice taking on a slightly apologetic tone. "I was... Reminded of a memory." Ruby shrugged, and turned back to the detective (who had been joined. Weiss also lent them her ear, curios if they would say what she expected.

"You thinking the White Fang?"

It took no time at all for those words to be spoken.

The criminal organization known as the White Fang were a main reason as to why Weiss thought so horribly of all Faunus. They stole, destroyed, and killed for their beliefs.

Every time they did it, Weiss wanted to scream.

_You're hurting people I know, you're hurting me! Please, please, I am... I am like you. I am with the monsters. Stop doing this!_

"Hmph," Weiss said aloud, folding her arms. "The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates." Weiss could feel the negative glare that came from her side, and she didn't even have to turn to see who it belonged to.

"What's your problem?" The low, dangerous voice of Blake replied.

"My problem?" Weiss said instantly. "I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"The White Fang are hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus."

_This is a dangerous path. I know that if I keep on it, I'm going to end up in a place I don't want to be. Just... Stop now Weiss._

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet," Weiss said, using something she often heard amongst the Schnee staff. She knew that that couldn't be true, but it would at least help her image.

"So then they're very misguided," Blake continued on, not phased in the slightest. "Either way, that still doesn't explain why they would want to rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."

_Does she even hear herself?_

"Blake's got a point," Ruby said shyly. Weiss stared at her, feeling her hands involuntarily clench.

_Deep breaths..._

_Deep breaths..._

"Plus, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a while back," Ruby continued, not noticing Weiss' agitation. "Maybe this was him?"

This was where Weiss should've stopped.

Admit Ruby was probably right and carried on with her day.

But the icy surface was simply a surface, and the heat of her rage had finally boiled up to a hostile point.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum," Weiss said, her voice sounding far more even-tempered then she felt. "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

_I should know._

"That's not necessarily true," Yang said, finally interjecting herself into the conversation.

"HEY! STOP THAT FAUNUS!" Someone shouted. All four girls averted their eyes to the dockyard, finding a monkey Faunus running along a ship with two crewmen running after him.

The Faunus jumped onto the rail of the ship, and looked back at the crew.

"Thanks for the ride boys," he said. He let out a laugh, and jumped down from the ships rail.

 _What miraculous timing,_ Weiss thought.

She watched as the Faunus proceeded to completely outwit everyone that came out him, eventually making his way up to the rail. He took off in a sprint, forcing Weiss and the rest of her team to step out of the way.

"Well Weiss," Yang said. "You wanted to see the competition. Aaaaaaaand there it goes." Weiss suddenly remembered what she had tried to seem as though she was doing earlier, and she kicked herself internally as she spoke.

"Quick, we have to observe him!" Weiss said. Almost instantly, she took off in a sprint with the rest of RWBY hot in pursuit.

Weiss never made it very far. The monkey boy was too fast for her to really properly gain ground. But what really didn't help was the hard collision that Weiss made after a few more feet.

She felt herself start to fall forward, unable to stop herself from landing on the ground. When her eyes rose again, she saw the Faunus jump onto a roof.

"He got away!" She said, frustration just present in her voice.

"Uhhhh, Weiss?" Yang asked. Weiss looked at Yang, noticed where her eyes were, and looked down. She instantly saw the red-headed girl lying at her feet.

With a loud shudder, Weiss rose to her feet and got off of the girl.

"Are you alright?" Weiss asked instantly, worried for how the girl was feeling.

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking!" She said, her voice sounding unnaturally cheerful. She didn't even attempt to rise, she seemed perfectly content to just lie there.

"Are you... Gonna get up?" Yang asked finally. The girl paused, seemingly thinking about what her next response was.

"Yes." She sprung right up to her feet, and every member of RWBY rightfully took a step back.

"My name is Penny, it's a pleasure to meet you!" She said, maintaining her cheerful attitude.

"Hi Penny, I'm Ruby."

"Weiss."

"Blake.

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Weiss was about to say something, but a quick slap from Blake corrected the blonde. "Oh, I'm Yang."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Penny repeated.

"You already said that," Weiss said, a memory sparked.

_Did she say her name was Penny? Where have I heard that..._

"So I did," the girl said, cutting off Weiss' thoughts. Weiss looked away from the strange girl, desperately searching for that memory. If Penny was someone who could be associated with her memory, it was best that Weiss avoided her for as long as possible.

"Well, it was nice running into you," Weiss said, turning away from her.

"Take care friend!" Ruby called out.

The four girls turned their backs to Penny, Weiss wanting to leave her behind as quickly as possible.

"Well she was... Weird," Yang commented. Weiss ignored her, not really thinking of anything but where Penny fit in with her memories. When she turned forward, Weiss saw Penny right in front of her.

"What did you call me?" She asked slowly.

 _Oh no,_ Weiss thought. She started to walk away from Penny very slowly, letting the scene in front of her play it's course.

At first, not much happened that interested her in the conversation. Penny was simply reacting to Ruby calling her friend, this being a very foreign experience for her apparently. But then, she mentioned her fighting in the tournament. Weiss wasn't going to do anything about it, but then she kicked herself again for playing along with the notion of her being present to spy on the competition.

"Do you know that monkey tailed... Rapscallion from the boat?" Weiss asked suddenly.

 _He didn't seem like the worst Faunus at least,_ Weiss thought.

"The who?" Penny asked.

"The filthy Faunus from the boat!"

_For a monkey he seemed decently kept._

"Why do you keep calling him that?" Blake finally asked. Weiss tilted her head, immediately realizing that perhaps she should've dropped the act long ago.

"What?" She asked, understanding that she was too far in to turn back at this point.

"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!"

_Well that last piece is highly debatable, nor have I ever called him a degenerate._

"I'm sorry, would you like me to stop referring to the lamppost as a lamppost?" Weiss asked. "Or perhaps I should refer to the trashcan as a pot of flowers? I will identify something by what I see, nothing more."

"You ignorant little brat!" Blake spat. She started to storm off, and for a moment Weiss was completely contempt to let her go. So what if she wanted to defend such a horrible race? Weiss already had to put up one huge act, she didn't want to have to deal with another one. But still...

"Where are you going?" Weiss called out. "I'm your teammate, and you have to stay at our dorm."

Weiss walked after Blake, her sole objective being to tell her to come back to the dorms and to forget this incident. But the moment Weiss arrived, it was clear that Blake wanted to keep arguing.

And so they did argue. For a while, Weiss wasn't into it. But as Blake continued to defend the Faunus' as a whole, Weiss began to feel her anger grow. The Faunus were an awful race, she felt as though that much was certain. And so Weiss fought hard against Blake for hours.

Finally, Weiss reached a breaking point.

"Blake, I swear, drop this topic and forget that this interaction ever occurred," Weiss said, her voice wavering slightly.

"You would love to do that," Blake carried on. "Pretend that there isn't an issue, pretend as though you don't contribute to this problem. But the truth is, people like you are the main source of the problem."

"People like me?"

"You're discriminatory!" Blake shouted.

Weiss felt everything come undone right then and there.

"You... Have... No idea... Belladonna..." Weiss huffed. Her back began to burn, her actual wings starting to grow more uncomfortable by the moment.

"When I was a child, the White Fang escalated their war against my grandfather's company," Weiss said, her voice dangerously low. "They started to... Rob the stores. They... They killed people. Family, friends, it didn't matter to them. Anyone even remotely associated with the Schnee's, gone. But the worst part was my father." Weiss could feel the room grow even more deathly silent at that, no one understanding exactly what Weiss was saying but they feared it just the same.

"He was the one who had to deal with the White Fang's attacks. He was the one who solely bore the stress."

_They will continue to pay_

"He struggled against it."

_You can't understand now._

"He just... Couldn't."

_Birdy!_

"I never grew up."

_Back!_

"I was grown up."

_Birdy back!_

"The Faunus took away my childhood!" Weiss walked right over to the window, looking down at the night-lit scene of Beacon.

"Weiss... I..." Ruby said, trying to comfort her partner.

"No!" Weiss snapped, pushing Ruby off of her. "Do you understand why I hate the White Fang? Why I don't particularly care for the Faunus? It's because their thieves, murders, and  _liars!"_ _  
_

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake snapped right back.

Weiss recoiled from Blake, initially from the sheer force with which Blake spoke. But then, the words slowly began to make sense to her.

_...We?_

"I..." Blake stuttered as she backed away. Without another moment's worth hesitation, Blake took off out the door.

_Is she a...? Does we mean that she...? Is she...?_

_Is she one of us?_

"Blake! Wait! Come back!" Ruby yelled out. She started to walk towards the door, but realized how far gone Blake was. Ruby wouldn't be able to catch up to her at that point.

"Did she just...?" Weiss asked, still feeling as though she was in an emotional daze.

"Yeah, Weiss, she did," Yang said, letting off a slight angry air. "She just basically said that she did shit with the White Fang. You satisfied?" Weiss backed up to her bed and fell back on it.

"I need... To lie down..." Without another word, Weiss did something she hadn't done for a very long time.

She completely blacked out and slept a dreamless sleep.

_Later_

Weiss had originally assumed that Blake would calm down after a night out and return to the dorm. Where else did she have to go? But apparently, she found her a place to go.

It had been a very long time, and there was no sign of Blake. She still felt no real concern, but somehow she found herself in the streets with Ruby and Yang. Both of them were worried about Blake, both of them felt as though their teammate had a better reason.

 _Clearly she's at least a Faunus,_ Weiss thought.  _That's more then enough of a reason to not trust her at all._

"She's been gone all weekend," Ruby said as the trio wandered the streets. Weiss remained silent, not willing to speak a word. "Do you think she's okay?"

"I'm sure she's just fine," Weiss said, her voice filled with an underlying anger.

"Are you even the slightest bit worried about her?" Yang asked, her own voice giving way to a small amount of anger.

"Oh I'm sure that Blake is fine, but she is in much more trouble when she meets us again," Weiss said. "I mean, we are huntresses in training, right? Blake has basically given us her spoken confession."

"Weiss, we need to let her explain this," Yang said, her tone wavering slightly. "I'm worried about her..." Weiss opened her mouth, but closed it instantly. It was obvious what was happening here, and how little impact anything coming from her mouth would have.

"I wonder where Blake went," Ruby finally said. "I mean, it's not like she could've gotten far. How far can someone running get?"

 _A lot further then you'd ever think Ruby,_ Weiss thought.

"Technically you can get very far off of your legs," someone said from behind them. All three girls jumped at the words, turning to face the same red-haired girl from the prior day. Penny.

"Ah Penny where did you come from?!" Ruby cried out instantly.

"Hello friends," Penny said. "I couldn't help but hear your discussion. Is there something wrong with your teammate?"

"Yeah, we're trying to find our friend, Blake," Yang said instantly, already reaching the end of her patience between Weiss and Blake.

"Oh, you mean the Faunus girl," Penny said, very matter-of-factly.

"Wait, how did you know?" Ruby asked. The rest of the team had already been able to reach that conclusion themselves, but Penny was never present for any of it.

"Uh, the cat ears."

"What cat ears?" Yang asked. "She wears a... Bow..." The three girls stared blankly off into the distance. Weiss was mentally kicking herself.

_I've spent sixteen years of my life hiding and I couldn't figure out why Blake simply refused to take off her bow! I just... I can't even be useful against the rest of us._

"She's been gone all weekend," Weiss heard Ruby say. It was just enough to remind her that there was actually a relevant conversation going on, one that Weiss may need to partake in.

"That's terrible!" Penny gasped. She walked forward and grabbed firmly sold of Ruby. Yang immediately grabbed onto Weiss and started to pull her in the opposite direction. Nobody was sure as to what exactly was up with Penny, but neither Weiss nor Yang wanted to stick around long enough to find out. Weiss was very much so done with dealing with other people's secrets and ticks. Her own was more than enough.

Both girls safely ducked away from Ruby, not caring for one moment that Ruby would be burdened with the odd girl. Weiss found it surprising that Yang seemed willing to allow Ruby the burden, however. It's strange to believe that someone so caring about their sister would just leave her up to Penny.

 _I guess not every first impression is right,_ Weiss thought.

"Where to?" Yang asked suddenly.

"Pardon?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, I was just wondering if you had an idea for where to look," Yang said, shrugging.

_There's the police station, pounds, White Fang hideouts..._

"Let's just ask around," Weiss said, resigning herself to this fate. "It'll be... Painless." Yang nodded, agreeing with Weiss.

The two girls set out for the shops. Every time they walked into one, Yang always took the front. Weiss didn't care so much as to what happened to Blake. For all she cared Blake could've been killing Schnee's. But Yang did. It was obvious that she wanted her partner back.

After a few shops, it was clear that even Yang's will was wavering.

"Thanks anyways!" Yang called out, as yet another shop owner was turning them away with no information. The door closed, and she looked up at the sky.

"Ugh, this is hopeless," Yang complained. Weiss remained silent, agreeing with her whole-heartedly. "You really don't care if we find her, do you?"

"I was avoiding broaching that subject," Weiss said under her breath.

"She's our teammate!" Yang said instantly. "How could you not? In fact, from what I could tell, you liked her a lot more then you liked Ruby or me. What the hell is up with you?"

"This is not something that most people lie about," Weiss countered. "Perhaps a few things slip by your mentioning of your past. But what would drive a person to leave a criminal organization and try to become a huntress? What then drives them to lie about it? Think about it Yang." Yang went silent, taking a few moments to ponder what Weiss said.

 _What I'm doing is so much worse, of course,_ she thought.  _But Yang doesn't know. My lies are my reality, not a fabrication._

"The innocent never run, Yang," Weiss finished off.

_Trust me, I know._

She started to walk away, leaving Yang to stand there and think over everything that Weiss had said.

"Hey Weiss, wait up," Yang called out. She took off in a slight jog to catch up, and both girls walked along the road in silence.

But Weiss realized that Yang had been right about at least one thing. Blake had been her favorite among the team, as Blake was the only one who had previously been content to let her be. She also was quiet, calm, well read, intelligent. She was what Weiss was looking for in a team. Her hatred ran very deep for Faunus, but what about Blake?

Yang had, inadvertently, gotten into her head.

"You alright?" Yang suddenly asked.

"Fine," Weiss replied, not at all breaking her concentration for even a moment.

"Are you sure?" Yang asked. "Cause you've been kind of quiet, and you keep looking straight ahead and-."

"I'm simply thinking of advancing on with finding your partner that you want to find so desperately," Weiss said sharply, cutting off Yang's speech efficiently. "I am looking straight ahead because I believe I had identified several more shops that could potentially be housing information on Blake's whereabouts. Do you have any other pointless observations?" Yang seemed a little taken aback by Weiss' cold reply, but she shook her head. "Wonderful. Now, if we may." Weiss walked forward.

All she hoped for was a shop so that her bluff wasn't completely shattered.

Time carried on very slowly and repetitively. They were unable to get much luck with where Blake was, forcing both girls to reach the point of exhaustion and boredom.

"We need to stop," Yang said, looking around her. "I don't think Blake's going anywhere, and this is clearly pointless." Weiss nodded, not wanting to vocally acknowledge her agreement with Yang.

But both girls were more then happy to take a brief rest period on a bench. Weiss took the left side of it while Yang took to the right. The gap between them remained constant, the only sound being the breath coming from their mouths.

"Hey Weiss," Yang suddenly said. "You... Talked earlier about your family. But I don't think I've ever really heard about them before last night."

"I am not sharing more information about my past, thank you," Weiss said.

"No, I was just going to say that it sounds hard." Weiss stared at Yang as if she was insane.

"Pardon?"

"Growing up like that. It doesn't seem like there was a lot of room for love. I've always... Felt love. I just... I'm sorry."

"There was plenty of love and there is no need to apologize," Weiss said instantly. Both of those things were lies, but hearing an apology from Yang wasn't enough and acknowledging the lack of love was going to cause more problems then solve.

"Some days were just harder then others," Weiss said dismissively. "But that is the path that all of us must endure. Not every day can be flawless, not every day can be left to ruins."

_Except that it can._

"We must adapt and wait for the better days."

_I wonder what those feel like?_

"I guess..." Yang said. But it was clear from her tone she wasn't buying it. Weiss realized an error she had just made, and mentally kicked herself for it. Yang was someone who was very caring, her natural inclination would be to aid a friend. Give her an inch, and Yang will spot your weaknesses.

Weiss had given her more than an inch.

"Listen, Yang," Weiss said slowly. "Difficulties happened, I won't pretend they didn't. But that's all they were, difficulties. They have... Aided in reflection on my views, of that much I will admit. But do not ever think to look beyond that Yang, I swear." Yang remained silent. Weiss didn't know if what she just did made it more obvious or made aided her cause, but this was all that she had. Desperation was a feeling that she knew well, and after dealing with it for so long Weiss didn't know how many more tricks she could use.

"We need to get back to work," Yang said, rising to her feet. "Blake's still out there, and we need to stay together. Isolation won't help." Weiss stare at Yang as she walked away, completely speechless.

_Was she talking to..._

"Ey, Ice Queen!" Yang snapped. "We have to go. I don't care if you don't want to, we're finding Blake." Weiss rose to her feet, resigned to her fate with Yang. But it felt less... Negative then before.

_I have to make an effort... I have to... Blake earned it._

Their hunt only ended very late at night when both girls received a call from the police. Apparently, Ruby, Blake, Penny, and the monkey Faunus from earlier (Sun Wukong, as Weiss now knew) had gotten into a fight at the docks. Weiss and Yang had somehow missed the multitude of explosions that apparently took place on the docks, leaving them to make the trek over to them.

The whole time, Yang seemed both excited and nervous. She had tried her hardest to make sure that Weiss was willing to let Blake back into the team without completely destroying her. But Weiss remained silent. She would acknowledge Yang's presence, her rants, her questions, but she wouldn't do much more beyond that.

"Weiss," Yang said again. "We're almost there. Are you gonna go off and make sure we have to chase after Blake again?"

 _Finally she goes back to blunt,_ Weiss thought.  _The subtle approach does not suit you._

"I will say what I need to," Weiss said simply.

"That's not exactly reassuring," Yang grumbled.

"It is as reassuring as you will get with me," Weiss mumbled. Yang cursed something under her breath, but carried on the course.

It only took another minute for them to reach the docks. The police were everywhere, scouring over what was happening. Yang and Weiss were held back at first, but one of the officers gave confirmation that they were allowed to be let through. Both Weiss and Yang found the four kids on some boxes. Ruby spotted the duo instantly, and got to her feet. She ran over to where they were, taking in a deep breath before beginning to rattle off.

"Look Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing, she doesn't actually wear a bow she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute."

Weiss completely ignored the ramblings of her team leader, walking right up to where Blake was. She looked straight up into the eyes of her Faunus teammate. Weiss took a long time to study them. Blake normally held a very calm stare, which was Weiss was expecting. But instead, she got several other things.

Sadness.

Regret.

Pain.

Anger.

The wanting for a second chance.

"Weiss, I just want you to know that I am no longer associated with the White Fang," Blake began. "Back when I was a member, they-."

"Stop," Weiss said instantly. Without a moments hesitation, Weiss wrapped her arms around Blake and pulled her into a hug. Blake tensed up at first, but cautiously put her arms around Weiss as well.

"It doesn't matter," Weiss whispered. "It just... Doesn't." Weiss felt Blake nod, and then she let go of her. "Just don't do something like this again. Come to us next time, okay?" Blake nodded again, wiping a tear away from her eye.

 _Acceptance... I had to show Blake acceptance,_ Weiss thought.  _She's earned it. Blake has earned it_.

**End: Man, this took a while to write. The next chapter will NOT be from where Volume 2 began, it'll be from here. Reason being is that I need that extra time for some original ideas and whatnot. Otherwise, questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is always appreciated.**


	5. Molting

Broken Wings Ch. 5: Molting

**This chapter will be original, so will every chapter from here on out. Let's do this.**

The return back to Beacon with Blake had been the warmest silence Weiss had ever experienced. While no words were spoken, the comfort Blake seemed to feel around them now made the ride feel welcoming. It warmed Weiss' heart, even though she tried so hard to conceal it.

She knew that Blake had earned the trust Weiss was showing, but it didn't change the lie she had been fed.

It didn't change what Blake was.

It only meant that Blake deserved a chance.

The arrival back at Beacon was filled with questions for Blake, the rest of RWBY (minus Ruby herself) had been excused from the questioning. Weiss felt emotional exhaustion, priming her to go straight for her bed.

She simply wasn't accustomed to feeling so much in one day. It left her drained beyond belief, forcing her into a sleep. Her original hopes centered around her sleep being dreamless. That's all Weiss could ever ask for, a dreamless sleep. Blackness into images of real life.

But tonight, she had no such luck.

_Weiss' Dream_

Weiss found herself in the middle of the large amphitheater in the Schnee Palace. It was not an uncommon practice, especially after her father made her take up singing to entertain the guests. Soon it turned into just another way for her family to make money, but Weiss didn't mind. When she was making money on stage, her father was silent of any scolding. The silence was the best thing that Weiss could've asked for.

But now, she saw herself in the midst of the amphitheater with a full house. Her stomach began to turn slightly, her ear's buzzing. It wasn't something she was unused to, nerves always hit her. Weiss had more reason than most to feel afraid of being so exposed.

She heard the piano begin to play, beginning her count.

 _One, two, three, four,_ she whispered in her mind.  _One, two, three, four._

She hit that last number and opened up her throat to begin.

"Mirror, tell me something, tell me who's the loneliest, of all?"

The song itself was meant as an insult from Ritter to Weiss. It certainly served it's purpose, but what he didn't realize was how therapeutic this song had become for Weiss. A chance to say what she wanted, a chance to submit her plea for anyone, all without compromising her or anyone else. Of course, the words still hurt, but that was all secondary.

"Fear of, what's inside me? Tell me can a heart be turned, to stone?"

Weiss felt herself flinch. She didn't know why at first, but she did. Her back moved forward slightly, her breath slowly growing shaky. She took in a deep breath (nothing unusual for this spot in the song).

Weiss heard her next cue, forcing her to shake off the flinch. She allowed her voice enter into the high note that came next.

As soon as her voice reached full breath, she felt her beautiful tone be replaced with a hideous scream. Weiss dropped to her hands and knees, reaching for her back.

It took a moment for her to accurately pinpoint what caused these wails, but Weiss realized that it was pain. Her back was suddenly bearing the heat of every cut and burn that she ever put on it, all at the same time. Weiss instantly collapsed to the ground. She just couldn't stand it, she had to get her jacket off.

Weiss' hand hit her back, grabbing firmly onto the back of her jacket. She pulled it off of her as quickly as possible, slamming it to the ground. Weis , seeing that the jacket was completely fine. Her eyes widened at the shadow below her as it was quickly being replaced by the red.

Weiss reached behind her, swatting frantically at her back. Her hands felt nothing, but her back was burning. She could feel it, it was on fire. She wanted her hand to find it.

She remained there, reaching for the fire on her back, screaming, unable to do anything about how much agony she was in.

A mirror floated down in front of her, allowing Weiss to at least see what was wrong with her.

She could see the fire, finally. It was two brilliant pillars on either side of her. Both of them started as solid columns, but once the mirror floated down Weiss could see them beginning to spread. She watched as they widened, taking a shape ever so slowly. Her eyes filled with even more horror once she realized what shape they took.

It was a pair of burning wings.

The sight alone was horrid and painful, but the feeling embodied all of these memories. It only made her wails louder.

Soon, the glow vanished. Weiss rose up to her feet, looking shakily at the mirror. She could see that the fire had been replaced by the very things that they had created an image of.

_Wings_

A pair of white wings now rested in the place of the flames, both of them at (what Weiss imagined was) full length.

At first, Weiss wanted to vomit. She could physically feel her insides churning at the mere sight of those wings.

But it only took a few moments for that sickness to be replaced with wings were... Beautiful. They were everything that Weiss could've ever hoped for.

"Birdy back..." She whispered, her tone laced with joy. Weiss smiled at her reflection, unable to contain her childlike enthusiasm at her wings.

It was all taken away the moment she felt a cold blade come down across her back, invoking the loudest shriek that Weiss had ever done in her life.

Weiss fell back to the floor, hearing her body hit the floor a few moments before her wings followed. She struggled to lift her head up, only seeing a pair of white dress shoes.

"How disappointing," a deep voice said. Weiss' eyes barely lifted above the shoe, but she could see the tip of Myrtenaster with blood dripping from it. Weiss would recognize any small aspect of her father from anywhere.

"... Father..."

"You did persist with these horrid things after all these years," he continued, ignoring Weiss' nearly motionless form. "You ignored our wishes."

"... Father..."

"Now I do hope that you realize anything you say can only make your situation worse."

"... Father please..."

"I suppose you assume that I'd kill you here, but I am very pleased to inform you that you are incorrect. I will force you away from anyone or anything you've ever cared about."

"... Father..."

"I will be the one to personally separate your wings from you every single day."

"... I swear it, I-."

"No more words, Weiss. Your careless has identified you as the monster you are. All monsters will  _pay._ "

Weiss watched as the tip of the sword dragged away, her hand quivering as she reached out after him.

"... Father please... Don't... Birdy... Birdy back!" Weiss began to sob, curling up into a ball as she just kept repeating those words.

"Father please don't... Birdy back! Birdy back!"

Her dream soon melted into a puddle of blood, feathers and tears as she shot awake in her bed.

Weiss could feel the cold sweat on her forehead.

She could feel her whole body trembling.

But her wings were the thing that she felt the most.

Weiss hadn't cut them since she had arrived at Beacon, worried that removing them could get her caught.

 _The dream had to be a clear sign,_ Weiss thought, staring at the jacket sleeves on her arms.  _I have to... I've been careless... I can't..._

Weiss shook herself free of those thoughts and looked around the room. She noticed that everyone was still asleep, which surprised her. Normally Blake would be up far earlier then Weiss, but she figured that the girl probably had a late night with Ozpin. She had been pulled into questioning, it must've taken her a long time to get back.

 _Well deserved,_ Weiss thought. Staring at her team for only another moment, Weiss reached underneath her bed to grab an empty bag. It looked like most of Weiss' other bags but it was function that really set it apart from the other bags. This bag had been specially made (per Rosanne's orders) to be completely fireproof. The idea was that Weiss would keep this one separate from everything else and use it strictly to hold her wings, burning them within the tight bag.

She had kept everything away from it, now she was going to put it to use for the first time. Weiss grabbed a few vials of Dust, a change of clothes and Myrtenaster before exiting the dorm.

Weiss didn't bother leaving a note, her team knew that she never changed in the dorm. They'd most likely assume that Weiss had left to change, but if she didn't return for a long period of time then they'd think that she went out on a walk. Weiss had been working in a steady diet of walks into her daily routine, allowing for her to be in a much better place to do something like this.

Weiss hurried into the girl's bathroom, throwing her change of clothes on a shower stall to claim it for herself. Weiss had always been impressed with how much privacy you could find in Beacon's bathroom, but she still had to work fast. While the privacy was enough to allow for her to shower and change without a concern, it wasn't enough to execute her whole return in secret if she wasn't alone.

Weiss stepped into the shower stall, stripping down and throwing her clothing over the shower stall's door. She stretched out her back, grabbing onto some of the wrap she used to hold her wings a little closer to her body. She pulled the wrap free and put it on the shower floor. Weiss felt her wings unfold themselves, already the muscles in them yelling at her for keeping them pent up for so long.

Weiss turned on the water, letting it run all over her body. She stepped out of the stream, stretching out her wings. She reached underneath the stall and grabbed ahold of Myrtenaster. Without missing a heartbeat, Weiss lined Myrtenaster up with her first wing.

All that could be heard was a single crunch as the blade of Myrtenaster sliced cleanly through the flesh.

Weiss didn't even flinch, switching her grip on Myrtenaster and immediately slicing through her second wing.

Weiss moved back under the water stream, having the luxury of being able to instantly go under the water.

Weiss let the heated water run over her body, watching as blood pooled into the drain. Weiss, for once, didn't stress over any kind of cleanup. Nobody would question blood in a Beacon shower.

She stepped out of the water stream, sliding her wings out of the way of the liquid. She grabbed onto the bag for the wings, quietly shuffling them into the bag. Weiss zipped up the bag before grabbing the flaming Dust and starting to sprinkle it over her back. She could hear the sizzle, her back forcing itself into an arch after the dream the prior night.

But nothing stopped her.

Weiss felt her back cauterize and she stopped pouring the Dust onto her. She got under the water stream one more time, closing her eyes and enjoying the tranquility.

After another minute, Weiss turned off the water and began to dry herself off. She bent down incredibly slowly, picked up her recently removed wings and gingerly set them in the bag.

The moment Weiss was done drying herself off, she got into her spare change of clothes, tossed her other clothes into the school hamper, picked up Myrtenaster, her bag and made a beeline for the exit.

Weiss walked through Beacon, holding her sword and bag at her side. The wings were reasonably heavy, but Weiss was a lot stronger then most people would assume. Carrying the wings was really of no huge issue for her.

Weiss got to the edges of the Emerald Forest, bringing her to a stop. She looked around to make sure there were no other students or teachers and then kneeled down to her bag. She pulled out a whole vial of fire Dust and uncorked it.

"Please work," Weiss whispered softly. She dumped the vial into her bag and sealed it. She felt the exterior of the bag heat up slightly, hearing the sound of the high heat Dust eat away at the wings.

She waited until the sounds could no longer be heard and then opened up the bag. Weiss closed her eyes, holding back tears.

The wings were nothing but ash.

Weiss closed up the bag, taking a few more steps out before dumping the ashes out into the wild. Weiss got down to the ground, sitting there and starting as the ashes scattered into the wind.

She closed her eyes, looking down into her lap at the same time.

 _Ashes of my past will scatter into the wind but the dreaded shadow of my future is still on my back,_ Weiss thought. She sighed, getting onto her feet. She dusted off her skirt, straightening her posture to look as formal as ever.

Weiss began to walk, taking careful strides through the edges of the Emerald Forest.

It didn't take too long for her to reach school campus again. The time that had passed since when she had first taken a shower was significant enough to where people were now out and about on campus, but nobody stopped Weiss. Most of them knew what cold touch awaited them if they ever made an attempt to speak with the Ice Queen. Weiss was happy with that. Dealing with people under her false image was difficult enough without having to maintain it through every lost student on campus.

Weiss masterfully navigated her way into her dorm, avoiding every student along the way. She let herself in to find that only Blake was inside. The girl was sitting in her bed with a book in her hands.

"Blake," Weiss said politely.

"Weiss," Blake replied, her voice keeping the same monotone quality that Weiss had come to know so well. Weiss' eyes drifted up to Blake's head, noticing the bow that still rested on top of it. Weiss cleared her throat, deciding not to acknowledge it for now.

"Where are Ruby and Yang?" She asked instead.

"Out doing something sisterly, I'm sure," Blake said, shrugging it off. "Your walk was-."

"Fine, Blake," Weiss said, cutting the girl off. Blake let a small smile show, returning to reading her book. Weiss walked over to her own bed, setting her now empty bag underneath it before sitting down slowly onto the surface.

"I see that you're still wearing your bow," Weiss finally remarked, looking studiously over Blake.

"You three knowing is one thing," Blake began instantly, seemingly having this pre-prepared. "But you know what others are like. I can't ri-."

"I understand your decision, Blake."

 _I admire you making the reveals that you have,_ Weiss thought.

"Just an observation." Blake looked up from her book, raising an eyebrow at Weiss. But the Faunus didn't push it any further, going back to reading her book.

The silence hung there for a little while longer. It was long enough for Weiss to pull out a book to begin studying.

"Thank you Weiss," Blake said suddenly. Weiss looked up from her book, eyebrow raised in a question.

"For?" She inquired.

"For... Accepting me. When I learned I was in the same team as you, I honestly feared the worst. Now I see I made the wrong judgement about you, for that I say I'm sorry. But Weiss, you have my gratitude." Weiss remained silent, returning her stare to her book.

"Some people deserve a chance, Blake," Weiss said, her voice barely reaching a whisper. "You are one of those people... And your judgement of me is accurate."

"Weiss... I just thought of you like a Schnee... Just some coldhearted hater of Faun-."

"There are exceptions to every rule of hate," Weiss said coldly, the familiar icy tone working it's way back into her voice. "You are one of them. Let there be no misunderstandings about my emotions towards the Faunus as a general group."

"Weiss, there are plenty like Sun and mys-."

"Sun is a thief!" Weiss didn't know how, but she was now standing just a little bit away from Blake's bed. "Sun steals, he has no place in my heart for exceptions. The Faunus of the White Fang made my life hell. The Faunus working for my father have become nothing but animals, he saw to that. And-." Weiss stopped herself, feeling her fists clench and throat close.

"...Blake," she said with a shaky breath. "There are exceptions to every rule. But I... For me it's just you." Weiss straightened herself out, sitting neatly back onto her bed. "I am aware that other Faunus are present at Beacon, including that senior, Velvet, but I reserve all judgement until I meet them. Getting to know a person is the only fair judgement."

"Then let me say that you're an exception," Blake countered. Weiss looked down into her book, taking in a deep breath.

_Birdy!_

"You don't know me."

_Back!_

"No one here knows me."

_Birdy back!_

Blake stared at Weiss, her expression slightly crestfallen. It was clear that the girl was frustrated over how little of Weiss she knew, but there was nothing she could do.

"I hope that you come to trust us like I trust you," Blake said before returning to her reading. Weiss buried her nose deeper into her textbook, blinking away a tear.

_If only that's all it would take..._

**End: So I've opened myself up to writing commissions. Info is on my profile (if you're on mobile you can't view it) and my tumblr. Otherwise, that whole "5k per chapter" may have been a little too ambitious. Oh well, here's hoping. Questions, comments, follows, favorites and feedback is appreciated.**


	6. Appearances

Broken Wings Ch. 6: Appearances

**It's been a while since the last update. School, health and CTFD got a little hectic for me. But back to writing now! Let's get back at it.**

Time felt like it wasn't moving at any form of a relatively quick pace for Weiss.

Only a week and a half passed since her first wing removal process at Beacon yet it still felt like that same day. Every time Weiss woke up, she thought that she would have to handle her wings again. But so far, all she had were the beginnings of the stubs. This felt like the most obnoxious part of the regrowth process as well. She just couldn't completely ignore them but they weren't enough to warrant completely changing mannerisms to maneuver around them.

But what felt the strangest was the interactions with her team. She expected Blake to tell Ruby and Yang what had happened, that didn't come as a surprise to her. But now they acted so similar around her. Nothing changed up in the way they carried themselves, the way they spoke with her, nothing in any way.

She just didn't get it. They tried so many times to keep how they interacted with her the same. They tried so hard to bring her out of isolation, which just felt like a completely pointless act and waste of time.

This morning, Weiss was left alone for a very short window. Ruby, Yang and Blake all left to attend to various course work (one that Weiss had planned on addressing later on in the day). This was the first time since her first removal of the wings that she was left truly alone.

For a few minutes, she stuck to studying out of her textbook. But this material was material her father had drilled into her 1,000 times over, she knew it by heart. Growing bored, Weiss stopped reading the textbook and sat up in her bed.

_I hope you come to trust us like I trust you._

Those words echoed in her ears. She did trust the rest of her team, she trusted them more then any other person she'd ever met outside of Rosanne. But that wasn't the problem.

She took in a few shaky breaths before rising up to her feet. She walked into the bathroom, walked in front of the sink and mirror and placed her hands down on the sink edges. She looked up at the mirror for a few moments before closing her eyes.

_I wish I trusted myself like you trust me._

Weiss opened up her eyes and felt the fabric of her jacket. It felt warm, warmer then normal.

Without even giving it a moment to think, she took it off and placed it on the counter.

 _Better,_ she thought.

She stood there, looking at her reflection without the jacket on. Her shoulders were one of the palest parts about her body. She was never without her jacket, they most likely hadn't gotten direct sunlight since she was a small child. Her back faced the same condition, but because of how badly scarred it was it didn't even look pale.

She took a few moments to admire them before her back began to feel warm. The feeling was familiar with her, but for one of the first times she could do something about it. Weiss peeled her shirt off and put it on top of her jacket. She ran her hands through her hair and let out a sigh of happiness.

The temperature around her back lowered and Weiss stretched out. It felt good to feel cool when her back was burning. It was a luxury she could so rarely afford, but now that she could she wished for these chances more.

 _But... What does it look like?_ She wondered.  _Where are they at? The marks..._

She turned around, angling her back so that she could turn her head and look at it and admired the horror.

Just as it had last been, it was almost completely covered in scars. Lines riddled her back, straight, jagged, former burns, everything. It just looked so terrible, almost deformed. Near her shoulder blades sat two small lumps. So far, they remained the same tone as her flesh. This would only last another few days, when they'd sprout and take a much larger form. This was one of the last days Weiss would have before the thoughts of cutting off her wings would become serious again.

For now, however, she could stare and marvel. There was nothing beautiful about her back, in fact she thought it was one of the most horrific things that she could see. But yet she couldn't divert her gaze.

Every little bump.

Every line.

Every ugly mark.

She had to stare at it, it was a view that you couldn't get anywhere else. It was mesmerizing, it really was.

Weiss snapped her mind out of it and shook herself out of it. She turned all the way back around, turning on the water and splashing some on her face.

 _This is just such a toll,_ Weiss thought.  _It takes so much energy to do this and the marks show that. I can't keep doing this yet I have no other options. Why can't I get out of it?_

Weiss let out one more sigh and reached to turn off the water.

But distraction for her never amounted to anything good, it always came back to hurt her no matter what point in her life it was. This time, the error lead to her missing a single sound.

The sound of a lock being opened.

The sound of a door knob being turned.

Footsteps of people entering.

Three signs she had, yet she missed all of them until one more followed it up.

"Weiss! We're back!" Ruby yelled. Weiss' eyes grew wide and she shut off the water immediately. She reached for her shirt, but it was too late. Ruby had heard the water and now she went to face the bathroom, the back of Weiss in plain view.

"We-?" Ruby started before she cut herself off. Weiss closed her eyes and bit her lip. She ignored the shirt and turned back around sharply, opening her eyes.

"Oh my god Weiss..." Ruby said. Weiss walked up to the door, sobs clogging up her throat. The full view of Weiss' chest couldn't effect Ruby, not in the moment of shock that she was in. Weiss didn't say a single word, she just grabbed the door and slammed it shut. She leaned up against it and collapsed to the floor, unable to stop the sobs before they poured out of her.

She wanted to have freaked out on Ruby, she wanted to run over, break something and shout. But nothing could come out, not now. She could just cry, thinking of the worst.

 _Did she see?_ Weiss wondered.  _The stubs... Did she... No... No she couldn't have... Too fast... Same color... But everything else..._

"Weiss?" Ruby's voice called from the other side of the door. "Weiss are you okay?"

"Go... Away..." Weiss choked out. She normally managed so much composure, never wanting to give them an inch. Nobody on her team had truly ever seen her cry, it was an act that she no longer had the safety to do. But today, she felt it shatter.

"Okay Weiss," Ruby said. "But later on we have to talk."

"Just leave... Leave me be..." Weiss pulled herself away from the door so that she instead was leaning against a wall. Silence met her from the other side of things and Weiss put her head squarely on the wall and let herself cry.

Weiss didn't move for a long time. Her sobs gradually lessened as she ran out of energy, stopping altogether after she ran empty. That didn't encourage movement for a few more moments, but Weiss finally decided to stand up. At the very least, she assumed that she had the course work that she needed to depart for.

Weiss walked over to the counter and put on her shirt. While her back enjoyed the time out of the clothing, she had to put it back on. Perhaps now she wouldn't take it out anymore, not after this.

She slowly put the jacket back on, turning on the water one more time to splash water on her face. She turned, took in a deep breath and opened up the door.

RBY were all on their respective beds, heads snapping around at the sound of the bathroom door opening. Weiss looked at them, still keeping her perfect posture.

Silence was drowning them in the room. Nobody wanted to be the first to speak, no one wanted to ruin things even more. Weiss finally recognized that she needed to break the silence first.

"I need to attend to the course work," Weiss said evenly, showing her normal composure through a crisp flow. "I understand that we need to discuss this, but I do not wish to acquire a missing grade."

"Okay," Ruby said immediately. Weiss internally breathed a sigh of relief. The course work also gave her a chance to think through what she had to say. They couldn't learn, she couldn't tell them anything near what the truth was. She needed to figure out her lie.

"When you get back, we have to talk," Yang said. "So just come right back here, okay? Please?"

"Of course," Weiss said. "Where else would I go?" Yang went quiet at that, nodding to acknowledge Weiss' reply. Not bothering with a reply, Weiss turned around and walked out the door.

She took a slow walk through the halls, her composure trying to remain the same as it had been. Never before had her scars been shown, she had no frame of reference. Still, her mind found another nightmare to look to.

**_~~~~~_ **

Practice with Myrtenaster grew in terms of intensity very quickly. After her duel with the Knight, Weiss was only given that same opponent three more times. Those were all three quick wins. That was when Ritter decided to ramp up the intensity.

Two Knights was the first test, that became three, which became five. They kept increasing in number until new models came out, new strengths, new machines. Everything was thrown at her and everything Weiss handled. Her prowess as a fighter grew and how impressed anyone who came to spectate her matches only rose on a sharp incline. For once, her family was pleased with what she did. It grew what she could do.

But nothing lasts forever.

It was the day of another match. This time, her father only promised a tough opponent. A lot of people wanted to see how she'd fair against whatever this thing was. Weiss was prepared to fight whatever it was, she felt as though she could beat whatever piece of machinery that was thrown her way.

Myrtenaster in hand, she walked out into the auditorium. The stage was set, lit by the moonlight and a few bonus artificial lights. She took to her side of the stage, giving a light curtsy. She couldn't see the audience, but it was all the same to her.

She turned, facing the side where her opponent would be. It would only be released just after her father announced the matchup.

"I would like to thank you all for coming," a deep voice near the crowd called out. Weiss immediately identified it as her father. "Tonight, my daughter will test out her skills against a new machine. Now, I'd like for all of you to bear in mind, this machine is different."

 _Of course it is father,_ Weiss thought.  _No two can be the same._

"This machine will be used against the Grimm, it's designed to counter them. We shall see how it works against  _my daughter_."

Weiss bit her lip. Something about what he'd said... It didn't sit right with her. She would think about it later, it'd come to her later.

_Focus! I have to focus!_

"Now, I suppose that is more talk than necessary," Ritter continued. "Let us begin!"

The lights dimmed in the audience, leaving only some stage lights remaining. Weiss took stance, watching the other end of the stage. She could hear something working, she could hear machinery going, but she couldn't quite see what it was.

_Focus_

Weiss heard the first step being taken.

_Take them out as quickly as possible_

The gleam of the light off it's exterior began to show.

_This must look good._

Weiss aimed her sword forward, but her heart skipped a beat at the actual sight of the machine.

Almost every robot her father sent towards her followed a standard of a humanoid form. But immediately, Weiss realized what this was.

The height matched up with everything else, about three or four times the size of her. The metal was gray and the gaps were impossible to see into. But this was patterned after a wolf, a Beowolf. It walked on it's back two legs but the claws on all four limbs plus the muzzle clearly marked it as a canine machine. The designs were specifically carved around the face to look like a mask. Weiss blinked a few times, feeling slightly puzzled at the sudden change away from humans.

 _Snap out of it and focus,_ she thought. Shaking her head, Weiss switched around the Dust chamber in her sword. She kept her eyes trained directly on the robot, waiting for it to make the first move.

Without warning, it launched across the room. Weiss raised up a glyph, stopping it directly in it's path. The Beowolf Bot fell to the ground and Weiss dashed forward. She flipped over it and swung her sword into the top of it. It glanced off of the metal and Weiss landed on the other side of it. She turned around and took in a single breath.

_Let it go first, countering is your best bet. Do not forget that._

The Beowolf tried to pounce again, this time Weiss raised up an ice wall to catch it. It was frozen temporarily, giving Weiss a few more free shots before she moved away. It wasn't overly eventful yet, but Weiss still had yet to really put in a lot of energy. If this machine had something new to offer, she couldn't risk any kind of serious injury. Not at the price that came with it.

The Beowolf tried three more attacks, Weiss stopped all of them without breaking a sweat. She knew that she had to go on the offensive, so she changed around her Dust chamber. Before the Beowolf pounced, Weiss dashed forward and swung around the sword at it's back. The Beowolf ducked out of the way, but Weiss put a glyph in the air and dashed forward. She jammed her sword into the center of the Beowolf, pulled it out and jumped off of it.

She landed, assuming that it was at least no longer fully functional. Weiss got to her feet and turned to face it, only to see it flying through the air at her again. Weiss rolled immediately, recognizing that she didn't have enough time to put up a glyph.

She got to her feet and looked at the Grimm bot. It looked like her sword had gone clean through, doing damage but not killing it. Weiss shook her head, biting her lip in frustration.

_I suppose this has something to do with the new modifications father wanted._

Weiss changed chambers one more time and slammed the sword into the ground. A single white beam went straight to the Grimm, hitting it and entering into the circuitry through the hole. The machine stopped moving, it's circuits overloaded. Weiss walked forward and put her sword straight through it's head. Now the robot made a dying sound and collapsed to the ground. Weiss lifted her sword and bowed to the audience, satisfied with her performance.

But something was wrong, she could hear it. Or rather, she  _couldn't_ hear it. There was no sounds being made by the audience, no applause, nothing.

_What is this?_

She looked around, seeing if perhaps she had missed something. Her eyes glanced over the floor and that's when she noticed something.

There was a lot of blood.

Machine's didn't bleed.

Weiss' face fell as looked down at herself, trying to see where she had been cut. She took a step forward and looked at where she was standing.

_Oh no_

Weiss looked over her shoulder and at her back, only able to see that her jacket was stained red.

"Rosanne!" Weiss heard her father yell. "Rosanne get in here and administer medical care!" Rosanne ran onto the stage with a medical bag and signaled for Weiss to kneel. Weiss dropped down on her knees, looking at the ground.

"Four claw marks," Rosanne whispered. "Looks like it caught you right across the middle of your back."

"I don't feel a thing," Weiss whispered back.

"Of course you don't, you wouldn't. Not here. Call it adrenaline and don't change the story here."

"My father..."

"I know Weiss, I know what he'll say, I know what he'll do. Come to me after he's done, okay? I'll be in your room to 'care for your wounds.'" Weiss managed a smile, even though she felt completely petrified. She could hear him in her head.

 _You failed Weiss,_ he would say.  _You were wounded by a Grimm bot. The_ _design was to make it even more difficult for a Grimm to kill, but you couldn't manage it as a human._

 _But I won!_ She'd want to say.

_You failed to defeat it cleanly. That means you have failed._

_I can't be perfect!_

_But you must. You always must, Engel der Schnee._

_**~~~~~** _

What was asked of Weiss wasn't very complicated, which must've accounted for how quickly the other three got back. She didn't say much, she did the tasks and then left. She wasn't eager to go back to her team, but she was at least prepared. She had her new lies ready to go and the problem would only go away when she addressed it.

Weiss walked through the halls, holding her posture, showing no emotions, ready to lash out at the first person who stood in her way.

_Why are lies so much easier then the truth?_

Weiss reached her room and stared at the door. She could just stand here, never come in, try and vanish like Blake seemed to have. What were the odds they'd come after her anyways?

 _She was always a lot of trouble anyways,_ she heard Yang say.  _Who needs her?_

 _Schnee's are nothing but trouble,_ Blake's voice echoed.  _Why not just let this one fend for herself._

But no matter what, Ruby's voice didn't come. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find a reason for Ruby to not get them to search.

 _C'mon guys, she's our teammate and my partner,_ Ruby's voice rang.  _We can't just leave her. We have to make sure that she's safe. We're a team, this is what we do._

 _Not like the other two wouldn't be ready to launch another search party anyway,_ Weiss thought. She took a deep breath and opened up the door.

She saw her team, all of them sitting on Blake's bed. They were looking at Weiss, concern riddling their faces.

"Have you been awaiting my arrival this whole time?" Weiss asked.

"No," Ruby said immediately. "We heard you. You still wear really loud shoes."

"When you stopped outside the door for that minute or two I was worrying I'd have to tackle you to the ground to keep you from running," Yang added in.

"Real comforting," Weiss said dryly. Despite herself, the corners of her mouths did twitch briefly. She regained composure and took a seat on her own bed. Weiss looked at the three of them, gong from face to face.

Ruby's eyes were very large, her eyebrows knit and her mouth down in a frown. She seemed like she was overwhelmed with emotions just from the thought of this. Yang's normal grin wasn't there, he face looked serious. She had the same look as she did whenever she had to care for Ruby, 'Momma Yang' face. Blake looked just as she normally did, not showing much emotion.

"What do you know?" Weiss asked. She needed to know what Ruby had seen, what she had told the others.

"Ruby walked in on you in the bathroom," Yang said immediately. "You didn't have a shirt on, but Ruby didn't see your chest at first. She saw... She..."

"She saw your back," Blake chimed in. "She saw scars. She couldn't tell what all of them were, how many there were, just that there were a lot of them along with a lot of different kinds of scars." Weiss looked at Ruby.

"That's all I saw, I promise," Ruby said. "I uh... I saw some that looked like they were done by a blade and some that looked like they were done by... I think something like an element?"

 _She didn't see the stubs,_ Weiss thought. She immediately felt relief.  _The lie will work._

"Well... I suppose I can't avoid this anymore," Weiss said. She took in a deep breath, closed her eyes and counted to three.

"I know what all of you are assuming," Weiss began. "But these were not inflicted by my father, most of them at least. Almost all of them were not his doing."

"Almost? Most?" Blake asked.

"There are two, perhaps three," Weiss said. "Those were... He didn't notice my presence. Accidents, that's all those were."

"Everything else?" Yang asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion now.

"Unfortunate circumstances," Weiss continued. "I... Put a lot of pressure and expectations on myself. Those lead to... Decisions... Poor decisions that I made..."

_Birdy back!_

"I... Got hurt a lot... And..." Weiss stopped, feeling her voice start to shake. She took in a few more breaths, attempting to regain her composure.

"It's okay Weiss, you don't need to say anything else," Ruby said. "But... Why'd you... React like you did?" Weiss looked at Ruby, knowing what was happening. Her face was losing it's frozen gaze, everyone on RWBY had seen it fall apart. She was in danger of revealing too much, this was going to either make or break her story.

"Pain," she said, very faintly. "I hide the scars behind shirts and jackets, I ensure none of you can see my back because... I just have so many memories. When my back gets hurt, I don't feel it. When I remember these marks..."

_Birdy_

"I feel the fire..."

_Back!_

"I remember the pain..."

_Birdy back!_

"Having other people see it reminded me of the pain again..." Weiss cleared her throat and looked at their faces. All of them held the same looks as before, which made Weiss more worried. Perhaps they hadn't bought it. Maybe Ruby had seen more then she had previously eluded to. Maybe they already knew.

"I'm so sorry Weiss," Ruby said, her voice soft and tone concerned. "I didn't have any idea, I swear." Ruby got up and walked towards Weiss' bed. She put a hand on Weiss' shoulder and looked at her eyes. "Please don't keep things like this from us ever again." Weiss looked up at Ruby a small smile emerging from the corners of her lips. She felt relief, comforted, but the smile mostly stemmed from her immediate next choice of words.

"I won't," she whispered. Ruby smiled at nodded.

 _You trust too easily,_ Weiss thought.  _A crime I hope you never have to pay the price for._

**End: So I'm going to RTX and I'm bringing Cody Talks Fandom to RTX, at least I want to. I need some help with doing that however, I need signups and donations for a camera. More info will be on my profile (apologies to those on mobile). But as per usual, questions, comments, follows, favorites and feedback are always appreciated!**


	7. Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss gets a talk from a friend which leads her to memories of another talk.

**Back with a chapter 7! I will say, we’re still pretending Winter doesn’t exist for this story but her being an older sister actually could’ve made this story really interesting but alas. I am back in school so the odds of each chapter not being really delayed are not great, but here is this chapter!**

The cold sting of water being splashed in Weiss’ face was a ritual that she had grown accustomed to after every class she did. Her diligence and attention to detail in those were always keeping her near the top of the class, but it was draining to pay so much attention in such boring classes. She normally needed to wake up a little before each study session. She looked back up at the mirror and stared at her face, recognizing the need to reapply her makeup.

It had been a few days since her team had to learn about her back and all of them had backed off of the subject immediately. Regardless of how much they believed it, none of them wanted to bring Weiss to the place she had been in that day. At least her trauma provided for a fantastic way to keep her team away from questions.

 _Near breakdowns makes them back away,_ Weiss thought. _Great thing to keep in mind. Good thing that if they get closer I’ll completely break down anyways._

She finished the last touch of her makeup and walked out into her dorm. It was currently empty, Blake and Yang had a class and Ruby was busy occupying herself with some running. It gave Weiss time alone, a decent chunk of it if she knew Ruby well enough.

She pulled out her scroll and sat down on her bed. She went through her contacts and hovered over a name. Most of her thought that the idea was terrible, but she needed to feel reassurance again. She needed just one moment of pure happiness and she couldn’t think of any other way to get it.

Weiss pressed the call button and waited a few rings before seeing the screen light up with a familiar face.

“Hello, this is the Schnee Residence and you are speaking with Rosanne,” Rosanne said.

“Hi Rosanne,” Weiss said softly. Immediately Rosanne took a second look at the screen and her face erupted into a smile.

“Weiss! Oh my god Weiss, is everything okay?” Her face changed to worry with her last words and Weiss shook her head.

“No, everything’s fine, I promise.” Weiss laughed a little and shook her head. “I just… I really needed to see you.” Rosanne returned back to her smile and nodded.

“Of course, of course, I’m so happy to see you again.” Rosanne shook herself and regained her composure. “How’ve you liked Beacon? Are your wings trimmed? How about your team?” Weiss held up her hand and Rosanne stopped. “Sorry.”

“Beacon’s been difficult but better,” Weiss began. “I don’t feel as… Threatened all the time. My wings are trimmed enough for now and my team… I have actually been able to be more amicable with them than I anticipated.” Rosanne’s smile grew at that news.

“That is fantastic,” she said, noticeably trying to keep herself from rushing. “So you’re making friends?”

“I wouldn’t go that far…” Weiss drifted off and blinked, remembering a few days ago. “But they’ve proven… They’ve…”

“Weiss, I know friend isn’t a term you had the chance to use very often, but I’d call that friends.” Weiss was silent for a few moments before finally answering.

“But they don’t know me yet…” Her voice was weak, barely above a whisper. Rosanne bit her lip, realizing what Weiss meant.

“Weiss, if these are the types of people who can base their dislike on you based around your wings-,” Rosanne started.

“It’s not the wings,” Weiss said, shaking her head. “It’s not that, it’s not that at all. It’s the lies, it’s the façade, it’s the things that I’ve said that just aren’t true, it’s everything I’ve done to them since I got here so that they wouldn’t dig too deep and I-.” Weiss choked, forcing herself to stop midsentence to take in a shaky breath. She couldn’t cry, not now.

“They know about my scars,” Weiss said, each breath shaky. “One of them say them and… They don’t know about the wings but… They…”

“And how did they react?” Rosanne asked, remaining very calm.

“They… They said they were sorry and they… “

“Stop and breathe,” Rosanne said. “It’s okay, Weiss.” Weiss took in a few steady breaths, steadying herself. “They comforted you, they didn’t try to hurt you more. Weiss, I don’t think that they care. You’re protecting yourself, I think they’d understand.” Weiss was very silent, thinking over for a few moments.

“But I can’t expose my wings to anyone,” Weiss said, sounding completely crestfallen. “If I do I risk… I risk so much.”

“I know,” Rosanne said. “I just… I just want you to be happy.”

“I’m happier here then I ever have been,” Weiss said, a smile filling her face. “I’m just… I still feel in danger, I still feel like an outsider and I still hate everything about what I am and I still feel like if I fail I lose my life. But…  I don’t feel like I’m going to die every time I close my eyes and sleep at night.” Rosanne nodded and smiled again.

“That’s the best we can hope for for now. I’m so happy for you Weiss.”

“What about over there?” Weiss asked. “How’re… How is everything?” Rosanne shifted around and thought for a few moments.

“It’s… Stable,” she said. “Your parents spend a lot of time in conferences and discussing things. A lot of employees here have been reshuffled after your departure. I… Don’t think that they think you’re coming back.”

“Good,” Weiss said. “I don’t ever want to come back. As long as you’re there, I think they’re prepared for me to have someone.” Rosanne nodded and Weiss looked at the time on her scroll.

“Rosanne,” she said. “It’s been fantastic to talk to you again but I can’t have anyone catching me.”

“Of course,” Rosanne said. “Goodbye Weiss, take extreme care of yourself.”

“I will, goodbye Rosanne.” The line went dead and Weiss closed her eyes. There were only a few happy memories she retained in her life and almost all of them were tied to Rosanne. Just that one call made her feel so relieved, every weight on her had been lifted.

She leaned all the way back in her bed and let out a single steady breath.

 _I wish this moment could last forever,_ Weiss thought. _Just this one moment where all I feel is happy. No pain, no memories, no fears._

“Weiss I’m back,” Ruby called out as she opened the door to the dorm. Weiss opened her eyes and scrunched up her face.

_I don’t ever know why I bother hoping for things._

“Welcome back Ruby,” she said aloud. “I trust your adventures met your aspirations for an exceptional time?”

“Weiss, can you do me a favor?” Ruby asked as she tossed her bag to the side. “Can you drop all of the fancy ‘I’m educated’ talk around me?”

“Pardon?” Weiss asked, completely caught off guard.

“I know that’s not how you actually would talk, I’ve heard you get emotional before. Can we just like… Not use more than 3 words in a sentence that have more than 3 syllables?” Weiss was completely stunned. She struggled for a few moments before coming back around.

“S-s-sure I guess.” Ruby smiled at her and climbed on top of her bed.

“Thanks Weiss,” Ruby said. Weiss was quiet, staying completely flat, hung up on one part of what Ruby said.

 _She’s heard you get emotional before…_ Weiss thought. _Ruby knows what I sound like and that means the others do as well. She… God that dunce of a leader._

“Hey Weiss,” Ruby said. “Do you think you could study with me?”

“Pardon?” Weiss asked, snapped back into reality.

“Y’know, you’re really good at classes and I’m not,” Ruby said. “You’ve told me before that we have to get better and I figured that you’d be a good way to do so.” Weiss pondered the idea for a moment before nodding to herself.

“You have to come to my bunk,” Weiss said. Ruby immediately dropped down with a big smile on her face.

“Done!” Weiss sat up and Ruby climbed onto her bed with her, a history book in hand. Ruby opened her book and flipped to the last chapter Professor Oobleck covered, one that continued on with Faunus rights.

Weiss took in a deep breath and looked at Ruby.

“Okay, what do you want help with?” She asked.

“Everything,” Ruby said. Weiss bit her lip. “I just want help in general.”

“Studying methods?” Weiss asked. Ruby nodded. Weiss took in a breath and started to explain to Ruby how she preferred to study.

How Weiss studied normally involved a lot of repetition and reviewing key terms, something that took a lot longer to explain than she expected. But eventually, Ruby moved on to some specific pieces of studying. Weiss actually was enjoying being able to explain things to Ruby, she enjoyed having this moment where her knowledge could pay off. It felt oddly nice.

“Hey Weiss?” Ruby asked after an explanation.

“Hm?” Weiss asked.

“Why’d you come to Beacon?” Weiss stopped, completely caught off guard.

“W-w-what?”

“You just are the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, in a rich family, why come be a huntress?” Weiss was dead silently.

 _What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?_ Weiss thought frantically.

“I…”

_I had to get away._

“I…”

_I couldn’t stay there anymore, I was suffocating._

“I just… Felt as though I had an obligation to restore some dignity to my family.”

“Really?” Ruby asked.

_No… No not at all, I have no obligations to the people who destroyed me, the people who made me realize that I’m a horrible monster._

“The reputation they acquired was justly given,” Weiss said. “I feel as though by going through this, I can restore what they previously had.” Ruby nodded and went back to the book. Weiss inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m glad you did that,” Ruby said as she skimmed through the chapter again.

“Why?” Weiss asked.

“Cause I got to make a friend.” Weiss’ heart shattered.

_No don’t go down this path Ruby._

“We didn’t get off to a great start, but it’s been cool knowing you. You’re really not that bad.”

_Ruby… Please you don’t know me. You don’t know about what I’ve done._

“I’m just glad cause now I can’t imagine a better team.”

_Ruby…_

“Thank you,” Weiss said aloud, putting on her best smile. “I’m glad I could meet you as well.” Ruby smiled and hugged Weiss, forcing the heiress to throw her arms up. “Can you not hug me?” Ruby let go and looked away.

“Sorry.”

After a few awkward moments, Ruby closed her book and climbed back up to her bunk. Weiss sat there, eventually standing up and walking to the door.

“I’m going out for a walk,” Weiss said.

“Okay,” Ruby said. “I’ll tell Blake and Yang when they get back.” Weiss nodded and exited the room, not wanting to stay any longer.

She didn’t know where she wanted to go, she just had to walk. She had to get away from everything that just happened, she had to distance herself and think.

Weiss walked through the halls, settling on the library for a final destination to stay. It was always quiet and always had a corner or a nook that nobody else would be in. Weiss entered, found her spot and buried her head in her hands.

 _Why do they have to be so kind?_ Weiss thought. _They just keep saying things, things I don’t deserve._ Weiss swore to herself and banged her head against the back of the chair.

 _Why can’t they just let me be? Let me be the stuck up brat that they’d expect._ Weiss took in a shaky breath, trying to hold down as much as she could so as to maintain the silence. But the damage was already done to her mind, it began to wander. There weren’t many things Weiss could remember that would end well for her.

**~~~~~**

_Age 13_

Weiss’ studies that she was required to undergo were only slightly less brutal than her combat training, meaning that one of the places she was more intimately familiar with was the library.

It was a quiet place away from it all, the spot that no matter what time of day it was she was guaranteed quiet time away from everything. Though almost all of her time was studying, at a certain point it just became a routine habit for her.

But she should’ve known better.

No place had held it’s privacy or it’s sanctity for her.

Why would it ever start on that day?

**~~~~~**

She was studying for her course on business one day. Despite how much she despised business and the idea of running the company, she found the way things worked fascinating. She was engrossed enough to the point where she didn’t hear footsteps until a hand was on her shoulder. Weiss looked up and saw a face that she wasn’t used to ever seeing.

“Mother,” Weiss said. Engel smiled at her daughter and looked at the chair across from her.

“Weiss,” she said. “May I?” Weiss nodded and Engel took a seat across from her. She smiled at Weiss and looked at the open book. “Studying for your future?”

“Really a formality of the courses I am required to attend,” Weiss said. “I am simply ensuring that I am educated enough to complete all of my work adequately.”

“And what is adequately?”

“Top scores.” Engel shrugged and shifted her expression around a bit.

“I can hear your father’s influence in those words.”

 _That’s because he is the one saying these things for me,_ Weiss thought.

“Yeah,” Weiss said before returning to her work. She only could think for a few more moments before looking back up at Engel.

“If you would not mind, may I ask why you are here?” She asked. Engel gave Weiss her famous smile, one that she got a reputation for with business meetings and press addresses.

“I’m almost never here,” Engel said, pointing around the room to indicate that she meant the Frozen Palace. “I spend a lot of time addressing potential new partners, the media, rarely have I been here for any period of time longer than a week.  Not within the past few years anyways.” Weiss nodded.

“I understand. I am glad you are enjoying your time at home.” Weiss returned to studying, no longer wanting to hold a conversation with her mom.

“I never anticipated all of this,” Engel said. Weiss looked up again, puzzled by what her mother had said. “Everybody I conversed with assured me that having a baby would change my life just…” She looked away as her face grew long. Weiss had never seen her mother like this, everything just sort of fell. The normal beauty and grace were replaced with regret and sadness.

“About three years after you were born I was declared infertile,” Engel continued.

 _What?_ Weiss thought. _I… You… I never…_

“I was heartbroken because I never wanted one child. I wanted more angels to carry on. Being infertile was just…” Engel stopped and took a breath.

“Mom…” Weiss whispered.

“But we had to move forward and care for you,” Engel continued. “I… The ideals I had been taught I questioned.”

“Mom please…”

“But I supposed I never was given enough time.” Engle suddenly flinched and looked down at the ground. “I’m just… I’m sorry Weiss.” She stood and looked away.

Weiss felt herself crumpling. Somehow hearing how much Engel _wanted_ to care, how much she _wanted_ to do something. Weiss was only just able to keep from bursting into tears.

Suddenly her bird made so much more sense to her. Engel der Schnee, Eds, the bird that her mom got for Weiss. Her father never wanted for her to have it, it was the one olive branch. It was the one attempt her mother could think to make, the one time she tried.

Weiss looked up, wanting to find words to make her stay, to earn love, to do anything, but Engel was already gone.

_No…_

Weiss dropped her head onto her book, unable to stop the flow of water through her eyes.

_No… Mom… Please…_

Weiss started crying, drenching her book. She couldn’t concentrate, she couldn’t study, all she could think of was Eds. Everything that that bird, the bird that brought her so much joy, represented.

_Mom… Eds…_

She didn’t move for an hour, it was the few times she couldn’t bring herself to work. Nothing cut quite as deep as that had. Nothing had hurt that much in a long time and few things ever would come close to matching that.

But Weiss still looked upon that time more fondly than others. It was one of the closest things she had to a happy memory with her parents.

**~~~~~**

Weiss found herself back in the Beacon library, tears starting to run down her face. She shook her head and wiped them off, getting frustrated with herself.

_I can’t think about that… I told myself I wouldn’t._

She stood up and took in a steadying breath, looking to return to the dorm. But before she did, Weiss opened up her scroll and looked for one of the few pictures she had kept.

It wasn’t much, it was her as a seven year old child with a white bird on her hand.

“I miss you Eds,” she whispered. Weiss tucked away her scroll and moved forward, hoping that the rest of her team would be there so she wouldn’t have to relive more memories.

**End: So that’s it, I’ll warn you there’ll be a couple of shorter chapters (probably). But I promise to make them worthwhile. Questions, comments, kudos and feedback are always appreciated!**


	8. Estranged

Broken Wings Ch. 8: Estranged

With every day that passed, waking up got easier for Weiss. For so long, waking up was the hardest part of her every day activities. She was waking up to face nothing but horrid mental and sometimes physical pain. None of that had gone away since coming to Beacon, but days where Weiss could open her eyes, get up and have a morning stretch in peace were becoming more and more common. This morning was one such morning.

She didn’t feel anymore at peace with anything. The freshly opened scabs of old memories were pouring blood into her emotions, but this time it didn’t hurt as bad. The knowledge of it hurting less hurt her more than the actual memories.

 _Am I just used to it?_ She asked herself. _Is it getting easier and easier to deal with?_

Her questions were often with a simple flare in her back pain.

_No… I’m just imaging things… I’m better at ignoring the memories._

Today, when she first woke up, no memories were clawing their way through her. She briefly flirted with the idea of getting some coffee for herself, but she didn’t want to go that far. She settled for sitting on the window, looking out at the view below her.

Very few people were out and about yet but those who were, Weiss tried to spot those whom she had never interacted with, those she had no knowledge of. She wanted to observe them, see what they’re doing and maybe even get a glimpse of how they feel.

A duo walked by that Weiss didn’t recognize at all. She could see the first person was wearing a beret and sunglasses along with a heavy sweater, thoroughly obscuring what she looked like. Weiss could catch glimpses of their longer hair and she could see how much they were looking at the second person as well as giving the occasional chuckle at whatever was being said.

The second person was taller and had a mess of red hair. Their whole body looked scarred and their eyes seemed completely white and vacant, leading Weiss to believe they were blind. They weren’t looking at the first person, but laughed in time with them.

“That’s Fox and Coco,” Blake said behind her. Weiss jumped and turned around, seeing Blake leaning against the wall nearby her. “Sorry, I just thought I could fill in some blanks for you.” Weiss nodded, swallowing and trying to regain her composure.

“Who is who?” She asked.

“Coco’s the one with the beret and Fox is the other one. He’s blind.”

“I thought so.”

 _I hope she hasn’t seen me doing this before,_ Weiss thought.

“How do you know them?” Weiss asked.

“You know Velvet?” Blake answered.

“The rabbit Faunus?” Blake nodded.

“She’s on their team. I’ve met them a few times.” Weiss nodded and looked back over at them. Apparently something had been said because Fox and Coco both had stopped to have a larger fit of laughter.

“They seem happy,” Weiss whispered.

“Most likely because they are. CFVY is a close team.”

Weiss watched them for another minute before standing up and leaving the window in favor of sitting on her bed. Blake’s eyes followed her the whole way. Weiss looked down, staring at her hands.

Seeing people like that made her morning better immediately. Coco and Fox were happy, they were laughing, there were no blanks for her to piece together. Something was going right for them, even if it was just that this morning they were in a good mood.

 _I would love for that…_ Weiss thought. _The joy… The comfort… I just…_

“Fox and Coco were partners originally,” Blake said, cutting straight through Weiss’ thoughts. Weiss looked up and nodded.

“I see,” she said, unsure of how else to respond to Blake. She was silent for a moment, finally taking in the deep breath and asking the question she didn’t know if she wanted an answer to.

“How long have you been watching me do this?” Weiss asked.

“Since you first started doing it,” Blake answered. “I only know because you hesitated going to the window for a little while.” Weiss felt her heart sink. “I haven’t told anyone, don’t worry.”

“I appreciate you helping me maintain some of my dignity,” Weiss said with a small smile. “After all of my various meltdowns and whatnot.” Blake gave a short chuckle before nodding at Weiss.

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad to have seen them,” Blake said. Weiss felt herself tense up a little, afraid of the path. “You came in and I just… Well I expected the worst from you.” Blake stood up and moved towards her bed. Weiss was staring at the ground, only tracking Blake’s movement with her peripheral vision.

“You’re not the Schnee shit show or the spoiled, protected brat,” Blake continued. “You’re… Human. Maybe even more human than I realize.”

Weiss winced and closed her eyes.

She felt like she had just been shot.

_Human_

“You’ve proven that, Weiss.”

_I’m not that…_

“You’ve shown that you are equal with us and want to be welcomed as such.”

_Every horrid thing people have said about you and your heritage is what I am._

“I’m happy you’re a member of RWBY, Weiss.”

_I’m a worthless, lying, animal._

“I’m happy we’re teammates.

_I deserve the worst._

“Thank you for welcoming me-”

_If you knew what I was, you’d get rid of me._

“-even though I know it’s not what you were raised to do.”

_Yeah, showing love and compassion definitely isn’t what I was raised to do._

“Of course, Blake,” Weiss said aloud. She opened her eyes as she spoke, putting on a fake smile and straightening her posture. Her back was already starting to burn, fire crawling up it faster than she could comprehend.

“I don’t wish for you to think that I’m just another Schnee,” she continued. “I wanted to be different.” Blake’s eyes narrowed and she tilted her head.

 _No, no, no,_ Weiss thought. _Please don’t go this way._

“Why do you do that?” Blake asked. Inside, Weiss could feel herself shaking inside, she could only hope that it wouldn’t show.

“Do what?” She asked, putting on her best quizzical look.

“You switch.” Weiss opened her mouth. “And don’t say you don’t, I can hear it. You go from you to… A doll. Some rehearsed, disingenuous, fake person.” Blake gave Weiss a hard look and Weiss could feel her barrier start to break. “Why’re you lying about emotions, Weiss?” Weiss let her eyes fall and her posture change.

“Have they noticed?” Weiss said softly.

“No,” Blake said. “Ruby and Yang are a little quicker to believe than I am.”

“Later then. I’ll tell you later. When they’re gone.” Blake nodded.

“I’ll hold you to it.”

_I wish you wouldn’t._

Weiss laid back in her bed and stayed there. Her eyes closed tight in frustration. Nothing she did was right, nothing she said was right, everything was _wrong._ It was infuriating, it hurt her and it made her feel worthless.

At home, she was treated as a worthless burden who could never impress.

Here, she was the heiress under scrutiny that her team wouldn’t leave alone.

She wasn’t safe anywhere.

**~~~~~**

Time passed and eventually Ruby and Yang both woke up. Weiss was silent throughout the day but nobody really questioned it. It wasn’t unlike Weiss to go silent and with nobody asking any questions, Weiss got her chance to breathe.

She thought about trying to run. It was only fitting for a bird to take flight when threatened. It took a long time to get her off of this thought process and her only reason for not doing it was logistically. She had nowhere to run, no way to survive and no way to get anywhere. Leaving was suicide and she was too afraid to face death.

After a few hours, Ruby and Yang departed for the library. They originally claimed that it was with the intention of studying but Weiss felt confident it was to play a board game with some other friends based on how suspicious Yang and Ruby acted.

 _Not the first time those two idiots tried that,_ Weiss thought. _They’re atop their studies enough to do as well as they’d like to be doing._

What this did do was leave Weiss and Blake alone. There was a moment where Weiss thought about playing dumb, but both her and Blake were too smart for that. She also knew Blake well enough to assume that first contact wasn’t going to be initiated by the silent Faunus she shared a team with. After not even a minute of considering, Weiss took in a deep breath and walked over to Blake’s bed, where the girl was reading.

“Blake,” Weiss said softly. Blake’s bow twitched slightly and she redirected her attention to Weiss.

“I didn’t think you’d do it,” Blake said. She sat up completely and looked at Weiss closely. “But you proved me wrong.”

_If I had said nothing, would you have let this fade?_

“Yeah,” Weiss said, gripping her left shoulder tightly with her right hand. “You said earlier… You pointed out…”

“Your ability to shift from human to puppet and marionette in a matter of moments?” Blake asked rhetorically. Weiss bit her tongue and nodded.

_Don’t speak out of turn, Blake doesn’t deserve the hostility._

_She’s right…_

_She_ is _right…_

“Neither of us have a past we like to share with people,” Weiss started. “You… You saw what my dad did to…” Weiss stopped and looked Blake in the eyes. Her teammate’s eyes were starting to crack and show some pain.

_Memories…_

“Well,” Weiss continued. “I don’t know if you couldn’t guess but… Those aren’t great paternal traits.”

“Wha-?”

“He never touched me,” Weiss said immediately. “I never… Got hurt from him directly…” She closed her eyes and started to feel herself straining. Her neck felt tight as the skin closed around the veins, leaving them to become very exposed.

There was no pain for her.

Not yet.

But it was coming.

She had to stop it.

“The closer… People get to that…” Weiss came to a dead stop and shook her head. Tears started to well in her eyes and she turned away from Blake.

”I’m sorry.”

Weiss barreled into the dorm bathroom and locked the door behind her. She tossed off her jacket and stripped herself of her top. Weiss fell to her knees and tried her best to make no noise but the pain was already starting to flood her, every mark coming to feeling in perfect detail.

She forced herself to her feet and looked at herself in the mirror. Immediately, the pain ceased and she gasped at the image in front of her.

She was staring at her bare chest, her face, her legs, everything was what she had seen so many times before. Except this time, a large pair of icy wings were sprouting from back.

They were beautiful, they reminded her of what Eds looked like. She was mesmerized and amazed at just how beautiful her Faunus trait could be. She reached to pet it but the moment her hand made contact with the wing, it hissed. The beautiful white began to turn to the angry red coils of flames.

 _No,_ Weiss thought. _No please don’t take them away._

The pain she was experiencing before returned with a redoubled effort, but Weiss couldn’t tear herself away from watching her beautiful wings burn in the mirror. No feather was spared until she was stripped down to just her own, human form again.

She finally collapsed to the floor and curled up into a small ball. Tears were flowing freely from her eyes and onto the ground.

 _Pathetic,_ a dark, cold voice echoed within the room. Without even looking, Weiss knew who the owner was.

“Dad…” She managed meekly.

_Weiss Schnee, marveling at traits that belong to vermin and curls into a ball to sob when they’re taken away. Absolutely pathetic._

“Dad… Please it hurt so bad.” Weiss couldn’t get her voice above a whisper and even at that, it was nearly impossible for her to do.

_Don’t you have any allegiance to the birth right of your name? Your title? You’re a waste of a child._

“Those wings… Are the more of a birthright than anything you’ve ever shown me.” Weiss tried to uncurl herself, but every movement made the pain worse and she eventually curled back into her ball.

 _What impressively spirited words, Weiss,_ her father said, venom coating every word he spat. _Are you going to share any of this exchange with the other animal? The one who’s admitted to killing those you’ve known?_ His laughed boomed through the room. _You’re a weak, sad, pathetic, failure, that I know not as my child._

“You’re… A lousy excuse for a father… You’re both… Weak excuses for parents…”

_A knight and an angel gave birth to a pile of shit who can’t do any better when searching for words against us._

Weiss saw boots walk just in front of her. Her father bent down to meet Weiss’ eyes on the ground, piercing through her with his intense gaze.

 _When your death comes, it will be the most joyous day of my life,_ he said. With one last laugh, Ritter dissipated in front of her.

 _It was… My imagination,_ Weiss thought. _He didn’t say any of that, none of that happened. I… I’m okay._

No amount of words made her feel any better.

Nothing could undo what had just been said to her.

Her mind conjured up the perfect words for him, the exact script of what would hurt most.

Deep down inside, Weiss knew that every last letter was true.

All she could do was sob even more.

She had no idea how long it had been, but it was apparently long enough for Blake to worry. Weiss heard a timid knock at the door before hearing Blake call out to her.

“Weiss? Are you okay?”

“No,” Weiss choked. “Stay out… Do me that much and stay out.” Weiss heard silence in response and she could only hope that Blake would leave her to finish out her breakdown.

_At least that barrier will exist no matter what._

**~~~~~**

It felt like an eternity before Weiss ran out of tears to shed and her back stopped burning in pain. She tentatively stood and hunched over the faucet. She filled her hands with water and splashed her face. She took the time to completely wipe her face free of everything that water could erase. Weiss was left completely bare except for her completely bloodshot eyes, but nothing she had could fix that.

Weiss gingerly put on her shirt and coat before reemerging from the bathroom. Blake was on her bed, reading and there was still no trace of Yang and Ruby. Blake immediately put down her book and walked to Weiss.

“I’m so sorry Weiss,” she immediately began. “I had no idea that… That was going to happen. I didn’t think it’d take you to where it did. I-.”

Weiss silenced her by holding her hand up. She slowly walked over to her bed and laid down on her side.

“I did it,” she whispered. “You asked why I put on an act and I began down the wrong path. I have to do it.” She pulled the covers over her, feeling emptier and emptier with every passing moment. All of her emotions had just been expended, there was almost nothing left for her to give.

“Around us, you don’t,” Blake said after she gave Weiss time. “Don’t be polite, don’t be… Fake.”

“I can’t.”

“Don’t go to the places that bring you emotions, just don-.”

“I hate every ounce of what I am.” Blake fell to a dead silence. “You all have kept on in saying that I belong but I don’t, I never thought that. I go fake so you don’t hear my mind in it’s endless chatter.”

Weiss curled further into her bed. Her emotions were drained, her reasoning went out the window, all she wanted was for Blake to let her be.

“Don’t bring this up again,” Weiss said. “And if you hear me being a doll, prop me up and let the show go on.”

“Weiss… I-,” Blake started.

“No, tell me that this conversation ends right now.” Blake took in a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh.

“It ends now,” Blake agreed. “It’ll end until you broach it again, I promise.”

“Thank you,” she muttered. Without giving Blake a second thought, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Fortunately for her, Weiss was too drained of emotions to dream this time.

Every break was appreciated at this point.

**End: Questions, comments and feedback is appreciated!**


	9. Guardian

Broken Wings Ch. 9: Guardian

The days to follow Weiss’ discussion with Blake were filled with nothing that fell outside of the norm. RWBY went to their classes, the team fulfilled their training exercises and they studied. Ruby spent her free time tinkering with Crescent Rose, Yang spent her free time elsewhere and Blake spent her free time reading. Weiss always kept to either studying or sleeping when she had moments to spare. She did everything she could to distance herself more and more from her teammates getting personal with her. It was not and never would be something she would feel comfortable with.

The worst part for Weiss and her routine was how close it was getting to having to trim her wings again. She knew that it had to happen on Sunday, her last free day for a week. While she wanted to attempt to push to see how long she could conceal her wings, she also knew that another week could mean very bad things for her.

Waking up on Friday morning left her with a sense of impending doom. She was two days away from her next session and after how poorly the last one had gone, she wanted nothing to do with a second time around.

 _You’ll be okay,_ Weiss thought to herself. _This time your team will keep their distance. If not, scream, cry and crumple to the ground._ She paused, allowing herself a somber smile. _At least I won’t have to act that much if it comes to it._

Friday’s were usually quieter days for her, however. The team had less to do and often times just hung out and killed time. Both Ruby and Blake had departed from the room, however Yang was staying behind and lying in her bed.

Weiss had picked up a textbook and started to scan through it to refresh herself of the information inside of it. Professor Peach’s class was one of her weakest classes as plant knowledge was not where she excelled. It was a field that she hadn’t had any experience with at the Schnee Palace in her private studies. For whatever reason, her father didn’t see knowing about what plants did, what you could eat to survive and what plants would kill you.

Weiss heard the loud clunking of boots and briefly brought her eyes up to see Yang walking across the room towards the window. Weiss looked away and focused on the text in her book again.

“It’s really nice outside today,” Yang said aloud. Weiss glanced up at Yang again, unsure whether or not Yang was talking to her or just wondering aloud. “Don’t you think Weiss?” Weiss smiled and nodded.

“Yes today is lovely,” Weiss said.

“’Lovely,’” Yang said, mocking Weiss’ inflection and tone. “’Is it a lovely day?’” Weiss glared at Yang who had made no effort to stifle her chuckle, even at the glare. “Sorry, you just sound hilariously royal when you say ‘Lovely.’”

“Royal?” Weiss asked.

“Yeah, like you were born a queen or something.”

“Yang that’s not how royalty works. You’re born a princess, not a queen. It’s not actually possible to be born a queen.”

“What if-?” Yang stopped herself and furrowed her brow. “Yeah I guess you have to come out of someone’s uterus and that person is probably the queen.” She looked down at the ground in deep concentration. “What about a king?”

“What?”

“Can you be born a king? Like you come out of the womb and bam, you’re royalty.” Weiss stared flatly at Yang, baffled by the question.

“I… I don’t think so?” Weiss said. “You have to be of a certain age before you become the king or queen anyways. If you’re 5 and your parents die, a filler takes over the crown for you until you’re of age.” Weiss thought for an extra moment before adding on, “That’s how it works in every system I know about at least.”

“That makes a lot more sense,” Yang said. “Then someone who is literally seconds old taking over a kingdom.” Weiss looked back down at her book but was distracted by what Yang had said.

“What do you mean by sounding royal?” Weiss asked, looking back at Yang.

“Huh?” Yang asked.

“How do I sound royal?”

“Oh like you were raised in a super fancy, super strict place that preached having a nice sounding vocabulary.” Weiss stared at Yang, focusing in more and more as she concentrated on the brawler and what she had said.

 _Is Yang messing with me?_ Weiss wondered. _Does she… Understand any of this?_

“Do you know where I was raised?” Weiss asked. Yang shrugged.

“The Schnee homestead?” Yang replied, leaving the end of her sentence as a question. “I don’t really know anything about it, honestly.” Weiss sighed.

“The Schnee Palace,” she clarified. “My grandfather had the place built when the Schnee Dust Company took off, had it modeled after a palace to remind those nearby who we were.”

“So you were raised in a royal place?” Weiss nodded and went back to her book. Silence returned and Weiss let out a breath of relief.

There was a pressure that built within her every time that her upbringing was brought up. She felt fear filling her mind, anxiety rushing through her stomach and sadness flooding her eyes, but when she was able to hold even that pressure went away.

Plants held her attention for a few more moments before something struck her as odd.

“Why are you here?” Weiss asked, looking up at Yang.

“Uh,” Yang said. “I guess it is one of-.”

“No why are you still in our dorm on a Friday?” Yang’s eyes widened in understanding. She gave Weiss a small grin before gathering her answer.

“Concern.”

“Huh?”

“Concern for you, from the team.” Yang got up and walked over to Blake’s bed, sitting directly across from Weiss. “You don’t seem to be the most well put together of people.”

“Thanks,” Weiss said dryly.

“You can’t defend yourself against this one Weiss.” Weiss bit her lip and sighed, knowing that she had to admit defeat. After breaking down seemingly twice a week, Weiss couldn’t argue her stability as a human.

“So you’re my babysitter?”

“Just for today,” Yang said. “Everybody else had their one-on-one ‘Weiss we love you’ session but me so far.”

“So you are going to sit here and spill your heart out to me in hopes of making me love me more? Because let me tell you how that’s gone for every-wait how do you know about those?” Yang shrugged.

“Blake and Ruby gave me the overviews.” Weiss sighed and closed her eyes.

 _I don’t get any breaks,_ she thought. _They’re going to wear me down eventually. Why couldn’t they just not care?_

“But I’m not here for that,” Yang said.

“Pardon?” Weiss said.

“I’m not gonna sit here and spill my heart out to you because from what I’ve heard, that doesn’t end too well.” Weiss watched as Yang got up and walked over to Weiss’ bed, taking a seat right next to her. Yang’s arms opened up with an open invitation to Weiss.

“What are you doing?” Weiss asked.

“Do you want a hug?” Yang asked.

“Huh?”

“Do you want a hug?”

“Why would I want a hug?”

“Because hugs help. Ask Ruby.” Weiss stared at Yang flatly.

_What the hell is Yang doing?_

“I figured you’d freak-out if I just did it,” Yang admitted.

_Why is this where the line gets drawn for Yang? Why is she trying so hard?_

“So… Should I put my arms down?”

_Why do you care?_

Despite herself, Weiss moved forward and hugged Yang, who promptly hugged her back. It wasn’t the bone crushing bear hug that she had come to expect Yang to give Ruby. It was nurturing, it was soft, it felt… Welcoming.

_I imagine this is what a hug from your mother would feel like._

Yang said nothing to Weiss, just let her sit in her arms with her head on Yang’s shoulder. Her eyes were closed as she took in the warmth of another human holding her close.

“Thank you,” Weiss whispered.

“Of course,” Yang said with a small smile. “Everyone needs a hug from time to time.” Weiss let out a single breath, lifting a weight from within her. “Your back is bonier than I thought it would be.”

_Oh no…_

Weiss let go of Yang and pushed herself away from Yang.

“Sorry,” she said quickly. “My bones are just very prominent.”

“I wasn’t complaining,” Yang said, realizing that she misspoke.

_No, no you would be if you knew._

“You’re okay,” Weiss said. “Just… I don’t do well when engaging in stuff like that.” She wrapped herself up into a hug, locking Yang out of her personal space. “Can you… Go back to Blake’s bed? Or the window? Or your bed?” Yang nodded and made her way up her own bunk bed.

Weiss laid down in her bed and closed her eyes, uncrossing her arms as she moved. It wasn’t Yang’s fault but that didn’t stop her from wanting to blame Yang. She offered a safe space to Weiss, a loving space, but she still gave Weiss a reminder for what rested on her back. No matter what she tried, her safe spaced were invaded. The only time she ever truly felt safe was in the arms of Rosanne.

 _That’s not fair to Yang. Yang doesn’t know… How could she know? A Faunus with the last name of Schnee is an extraordinarily accurate use of the word irony._ She sighed and felt a desperate need to escape to the land of slumber but she wasn’t tired in the slightest. Weiss opened her eyes and opened up her book again.

She let out a small yelp when the first page she turned to was no longer filled with her plant information, but with images of her being hugged by her parents. She was young, it must have been before her wings grew out.

_What the hell is this?_

_Hugs,_ her mother’s face voice rang in her head. _You said you imagined that’s what it felt like to have a mother hug you, this is what it looks like. Do you remember these, Weissy?_

_Stop… Get out of my mind._

_Your memories do not ever leave you,_ her father’s voice followed up. It wasn’t as deep and stern as it normally sounded, this time it had an edge of care within it. _They remain with you, only some remain so deep that you can never access them again. All of the good has been blurred out by the later chapters._

Weiss started to flip through the book, seeing the hugs in the early pages replaced with her father cutting off her wings, the mountains of books she was forced to study, her hours in fencing practice and so many other horrid memories that plagued her every day.

 _All of the good was not used and discarded in the beginning,_ her mother said. Weiss turned the page one more time and saw pages filled with Eds, pages filled with her and Rosanne, pages filled with her and her team.

 _I don’t understand,_ Weiss thought.

 _Perhaps you are not meant to,_ her father said. _Not quite yet._

 _But you always have had guardians,_ her mother said. _We only served that role for a brief few pages in your history. There are several more chapters you have to write Weiss, your new guardians are here to nurture you the way you always wanted us to._

 _Do not fear Weiss,_ her father said. _We are never far, your memories will never leave you. You will always understand why you need guardians._

Weiss turned the page again and saw a single image filling two pages. Weiss was kneeling on the ground, her jacket on top of Myrtenaster as it was protruding from the ground next to her. She only spent a few moments studying that section until she locked eyes with the focal piece of the art. Her wings were fully grown, sprouted and beautiful from her back. It was an image she had seen many times, all through materials aside from flesh, bone and feathers. These were proper wings, a complete image of what she would look like.

_But why am I crying?_

Weiss’ face in the drawing was riddled with misery. Her eyes sprouted tears, plentiful tears that seemed to be developing from the sheer shock value of what had become of her.

 _This image is not meant to be literal,_ her father’s voice echoed.

 _This is merely a reminder of what awaits you,_ her mother added. _You are never to fully leave this state Weiss. Not as long as those wings keep coming back and you continue to be a Schnee._

_Try as you might, you will never be able to run Weiss. These memories will shackle you forever._

_No,_ Weiss thought. _No… There has to be…_

“ARGH!”

Weiss yelled and threw her book across the room, slamming into the base of the dresser that sat by their window. Weiss let out heavy breaths, her face riddled with sweat and her eyes wide. The voices of her parents had vacated her cluttered mind, leaving Weiss with some relief.

She felt the heat of Yang’s confused and concerned stare before even turning to face her. She met eyes with Yang and smiled apologetically.

“Plants are frustrating,” she explained. Yang nodded, not wanting to pursue further but clearly doubting what Weiss had told her.

_Why can’t I just be left alone?_

She got up and went to retrieve her book, relieved to see that the pages were once again about plants.

_One day I’ll be free… I just need… Space… And air…_

_I just need to be breathe._

**End: Next update for this will almost undoubtedly be after RTX since I am going and have to do a lot of stuff before hand. Hope you enjoyed and real quick, if I opened up writing commissions would anyone be interested in them? Questions, comments and feedback is always appreciated.**


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